


Second Chances and a New Beginning

by BFE123



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fix-It, Reincarnation, WWII, wonder woman spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-11-16 11:05:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 50,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11251836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BFE123/pseuds/BFE123
Summary: Steve Trevor died too young, but what if he was given a second lease at life?Set mainly during WWII. Multi-chapter and long. It'll be a slow ride, but hopefully the journey will be worth it.





	1. Prologue: Steve

_November 11, 1918_

 

Waking up to a very bright flash of lightening and the roar of thunder, followed by a baby wailing out into the night was not how Aletta Candy wanted to wake up, especially at 3 AM in the morning.

Aletta Candy, who owned a nice, little orphanage in Los Angeles, and who also had a very soft spot for blue eyed babies, decided to investigate the noise. This was an orphanage for kids 5-18 years old, and this crying was more akin to a baby crying than a young child or teenager crying. And so on she went, looking about for the noise, when she suddenly realized that it was coming from outside the main doorway.

She rushed outside and what greeted her was something straight out of a fairy tale, a baby wrapped tightly in a blanket secured in a small basket.

“Well what do we have here?” She murmured to herself as she carefully picked up the handle of the basket carefully and started to softly whisper to the baby “Come now, don’t you cry, you’re safe now.” And after a few seconds of loud wailing, it slowly simmered into a small sort of sniffling.

“There, there, now. You’re alright.” Aletta looked around to see if she could spot anyone, or anything in the street that would leave a clue of who had left the baby on her front doorstep. Having found none, she shook her head sadly and took the baby inside.

Once inside, she headed towards her quaint, little room to inspect her new resident. Whoever the parents were, decided to leave their adorable little son in an expensive looking (and feeling) silk blanket and a very nicely wooden carved basket. But at least there was one clue of who this adorable little baby was, as embedded on the rim of the basket was a golden placard with a name on it…

“Steven Rockwell Trevor” she mumbled to herself. That name sounded familiar, but after a few more minutes of reciting the name in her head, she had come up with decidingly nothing of relevance as to why Steven Trevor sounded familiar.

“Oh well”, she sighed as she made sure Steven was sleeping soundly, before going to her own bed and resting her own eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I do have a structure of where I want this story to go. But any suggestions will be deeply appreciated.
> 
> Again, if anything seems off by the characters (which there really isn't any interactions just yet). Please tell me so that I can make it as character canonical as possible!


	2. Prologue: Diana

_January 10, 1920_

The funeral was a few days after the war had ended. And it was a relatively small procession, as most of Steve’s family and friends were in a different country. But, Etta was determined to honor Steve in her own way.

Etta had also told Diana that there would also be a more formal memorial for Steve in his home town back in the States, and that she was welcome to fly out and join that ceremony as well. But, Diana knew that she would go in her own time. For now, she wanted to be surrounded by those that knew her, to draw some comfort from the familiarity of others.

She had stayed with Etta for a few more months, learning about her, and her time with Steve. Listening to old stories that made her cry with laughter that would morph into a somber silence when she remembered that all of those memories were just ghosts in the past, never to be relived or repeated again.

But if it was one thing she found out about Etta, it was that she, and her entire family were full of good people. She had one younger sister and two younger brothers, off trying to save the world in their own little way. Apparently, one of her sisters was running an orphanage in the States (a thought that had appalled her when she realized that parents would so easily give up their own children), one of her brothers was a doctor, and the other a judge. All of them trying to positively influence the world.

A few months into her stay in London, and she felt like she was ready to explore this world that Steve had died to protect, and she was glad that she had met some good people in a world that had felt decidedly bleak. But it was time to explore and create new memories for herself.

She would be eternally grateful for Etta, Sameer, Charlie, and Chief’s help in acclimating to this new world. But even they had all gone their separate ways a few months after the war had ended.

Charlie had gone home to Scotland, Chief back to the States, Sameer went to France, and Etta had stayed in London.

They all had their own separate journeys now, and it was time for her to start her own as well. And though she felt a slight emptiness in exploring something alone, she was an Amazon, and she could take care of herself.

Days later at the port, Etta would be persuading Diana that she didn’t need to leave, and that her flat would always be a place that Diana could come back to. And in the end, they would tearfully hug each other, and wish each other well. Knowing fully well that once one of them had set a goal in their mind, there was no way to stop either of them from accomplishing it. And so Diana set off to Europe, to help and rebuild what was broken and to start a new life in this world of man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter. But it's to just catch up with how Diana's doing. Next up... a time skip and Steve making a huge life decision.


	3. 1941: Steve Joining the Army

_December 8, 1941_

 

The sun was out and the streets were bustling with noise and busyness. The fresh smells of cinnamon and mint wafted through his nose. Yet, even with all of this joy and happiness of a Christmas that was only a few weeks away, Steve still felt miserable. Like he was missing something from his life, and deep down, he felt spoiled to feel like that.

He should’ve considered himself lucky. How many orphans made something of themselves? For the most part, the lucky one he had known had done some sort of trade the moment they were old enough. Yet, Aletta had raised him personally since he was a baby, and she had taken it upon herself to treat him like her son. Even though there were plenty of other kids she could’ve done that with, she had chosen him. And he was forever grateful for her. 

She was the one who had drilled into him discipline and a good study habit, saying, “Steven, you’re going to be doing great things. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you!” It was like she had all of these hopes and dreams of him becoming a great person, and he didn’t even know what he wanted to do! And it was so frustrating, to have a chance at a better life, and not know where to start.

Scholarships were rare enough, a full ride was almost nonexistent, especially to good schools. Combine that with graduating with good grades, and then getting accepted into a Ph.D program? Who would’ve known that an orphan would be able to achieve this much? He never did, but maybe Aletta knew. 

Even though it was in the early evening, the streets were still as busy as ever, and he deftly navigated through the traffic when he stopped to look at a crowd forming at a nearby TV and radio store.

“It’s the president! He’s addressing the nation!” someone shouted as people fell silent as the President began to talk. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked...”

There were gasps heard everywhere in the crowd, and Steve just stood still, absorbing the information that was coming out. There was a mixture of anger and sadness emanating through the crowd, and he was taken aback from the moment. After the broadcast had switched back to the normal news, no one had made a move, everyone stood just staring at the monitors, shocked at the fact that they were finally going to war that was coming closer and closer to their doorstep, shocked at the loss of lives, and shocked that it happened to their nation. 

It was at that moment, Steve felt that he had to enlist. He may have been caught up in the moment, or even influenced by the sudden roar of patriotism that awoke in every man in front of that store, but before he had knew it. His legs had carried him to a recruitment office. And the line was already out the door, with teenagers and men rushing to serve.

The surprise attack at Pearl Harbor woke the nation up, and it propelled a nation to go to war. A nation that had stayed far away from the death and destruction that was wreaking havoc through Europe and Asia, but had left the US untouched.

Once he had finished signing the papers, he had decided to swing by the orphanage, and even though it was late in the evening, Aletta was standing outside the orphanage, as if she knew of the impending news.

“I thought you might be coming over tonight.” She sighed sadly as she lowered herself to sit at the front steps. He walked up and sat down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulder in comfort. 

“I know you wanted me to become something great. But there’s been this thing that’s been missing, and I think I can find it in the Army- in the service of others? You know?” Steve turned to look at Aletta who had tears in her eyes.

“Just take care of yourself. My sister, back in England, lost a good friend in the previous war. She told me it took her years to finally be at peace with what happened.” She sniffed again and wrapped her arms around him, “You’re like a son to me. And, I couldn’t bear to lose you. But I also can’t stop you from doing what you want to do. So I’ll just pray to whatever Gods out there that you return to me unharmed.”

He rubbed her shoulders softly and tried to brighten the mood, “I’ll be fine, I’m more worried about you… Who’ll keep the kids in line now that I’m gone?” 

“If anything, I’ll be glad you won’t be influencing anymore of these young souls to wreak havoc in the world.” Steve opened his mouth to retort, but stopped and smiled at her.

“You take care of yourself.”

She snorted at him, “I’ll be fine, I’m more worried about you” she mimicked back at him, before smiling at him. “Don’t do anything stupid now... I mean it. No hero stuff, just stay alive.”

“Cross my heart and-“ Aletta glared at him “never mind- you get the gist of it” he smiled and held out his pinky finger. She wrapped her pinky around his, and he sighed out, “I promise.”

“That wasn’t so hard was it?” She broke off his embrace to stand up, “Now let’s have one good meal together before you leave- by the way, when do you leave?”

“I should receive my orders by the week’s end. And then from there, probably a week before I have to go.” He said standing up and offering an arm to Aletta.

“Well then, we should enjoy what time you have left here.” She said while dragging him into the kitchen.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wasn't so sure when the news was broadcasted, just that it was the following day. And because news really couldn't travel that fast back then, and also there was a lot more secrecy back then, everyone found out a day later. From history we know that the US populace was split on joining the war or having a non-combat role and supporting the allies with the lend-lease act. Pearl Harbor changed, and it was almost unanimous for them to fight. Also spawned a huge way of patriotism. 
> 
> Steve also has a Ph.D because it was sort of influenced by Jack Ryan (starring Chris Pine) who also served in the military and had a Ph.D.


	4. 1940: Diana

_July 1, 1940_

She had fallen in love with Paris when she first arrived nearly 20 years ago. It was a city that was trying to find happiness and a return to normalcy after the Great War as many had called it. In fact, Etta would have been happy to have lived here, women were empowered and emancipated. They could hold jobs and own businesses of their own if they wanted. They weren’t just treated as sex symbols, but as equals in France. Out of all the countries she had visited, only France, and specifically Paris, was the most progressive in women’s rights.

She had tried to convince Etta to uproot herself and come here to start anew. But, Etta was stubborn and determined to bring what Paris had over to London, and there was no stopping her from completing her task. Something she was glad for in the end, as she stepped out to the balcony of her tiny apartment. 

She looked out into the city and remembered wistfully what it used to be in those 20 years following the Great War. She vividly remembered the explosion of art and music that came into Paris, as if it were a new Golden Age that was occurring right in front of her after such a terrible tragedy.

But the age was short-lived, for it didn’t take long for war to start again. But this time, there was no great evil whispering into the minds of man. This time, the war had started because of the capacity of man to be evil, and to be spiteful as well.

Diana had saw the signs coming. From the newspapers and radio, she had heard the plight of the German people, weighed down by the sins of all of the countries that suffered in the previous Great War. And instead of man helping each other, they had put the entire burden on the defeated, to make full reparations for what had happened.

She only had 20 years to enjoy this peace that Steve had died for before war raged again. This time, more deadlier than the last, with newer weapons that had far greater reaches and much more of an deadlier impact. She couldn’t believe that man could create such horrible weapons, and the worst was that it was from both sides.

Etta had pleaded for her to come home, where it was safe. Diana had known of the loss that Etta felt when she had lost Steve, had felt it deeply herself. She knew that Etta couldn’t bear losing another friend, but she had nothing to worry about this time around. She had chosen to hide herself and not intervene this time. She had intervened last time because of a foolhardy notion that it was a God that was manipulating the minds of men to wreak havoc amongst each other. But now she knew it was just man’s general nature and desire.

She would help the innocent and those who could not protect themselves, but she made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t fight.

All countries had suffered from the wrath of Ares, but it was Germany that had suffered the wrath of their fellow man after the dust had settled. And if this was their way of rebelling out, then how could she stop them from answering out in their own voice?

The invasion of France, and Paris was quicker than she imagined. They had lost the entire country in just a month’s time. But the Germans were well mannered and didn’t ransack the city, or rape the women, or kill the children. They just occupied the streets, and while she felt for the French army that surrendered too soon, the Germans had still kept Paris almost fully intact.

Maybe they understood the significance of what Paris was before the war started, a mecca for art and culture, and didn’t want to destroy it. Regardless, peace did not return and there were still troubling times in the city and in the country. 

And even though there was a relative calmness in Paris, she felt like she could not stay here for much longer. But before she left she needed to make sure that Sameer was ok in times like this. So she searched for the troupe of actors he had been traveling with and was met with relief when she had found out that he had left for London the moment France was attacked. He had enough of war too it seemed.

So off she went, leaving the city of lights with a lighter heart knowing that her friend was safe, and headed west into the countryside.

With all of the remaining British troops having left from Dunkirk, the countryside of France was now occupied by minimal German soldiers. And according to British news, most of the German army was now heading east into Russia and south into North Africa. So there was a relative peace and quiet now that the war had seemingly swept past them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to add an end note, but a small lesson in history. One of the leading causes for WWII was the bankruptcy of Germany, which lead to the rising popularity of the Nazi party. A lot of famous economists at the time looked at the Treaty of Versailles and also agreed amongst each other that it would economically destroy the German economy. 
> 
> And if you really look at it, WWI was pretty senseless (as in there really wasn't one real bad guy, both sides were equally "evil"), and both sides were at fault. But putting both the moral and economic blame on Germany (the loser) was something that was wrong, granted hindsight is 20/20.


	5. 1942: Operation Torch

_November 3, 1942_

 

His heart was racing as he bolted up from his sleep, his shirt sticking to his back, and his body drenched with sweat. A dream of flying a plane into the skies with bombs all around him and then him pulling a trigger before being washed in flames. He had been having weird dreams recently. Some of them crystal clear like this moment, and others like a hazy fog, with him only being able to hazily recollect some of the images.

He looked around, hoping that he hadn’t woken anyone else up in the makeshift cabin. But after a quick look around, the only movement was of those adjusting themselves in their sleep.

He settled back into his bed, before murmuring to himself, “Glad I didn’t join the airforce.” He closed his eyes and tried to will himself back to sleep, and usually he would be able to drift back into nothingness. But today was different. This was the first time he dreamt about dying. Was it a premonition of a fate to come? If so, he would be avoiding planes at all cost.

He stared at the ceiling and prayed to whatever God to let him fall back to sleep, but all that answered him was the snores of his teammates. He stared at said ceiling for what felt like hours before the morning call rang out. He heard the stirring of sheets around him and the groaning at the earliness of the day while he got up to begin his morning routine, now that everyone was starting to shake off their weariness. They had finished their 3 months of basic training a long time ago, and he had received a promotion to sergeant, something he didn’t take lightly.

Maybe it was the fact that most of the guys here looked like boys no older than 18. Minus a few of the other men, he was one of the oldest soldiers there at the ripe old age of 24. But everyone respected him, even the older fellows, and he had made sure that the respect given to him was well placed.

It was now coming up on a few weeks that they had been stowed aboard a troopship named the SS United Victory. But it had honestly felt much longer than just a few weeks. With nothing much to do and everyone exuding nervous energy and excess adrenaline at the chance to finally fight, time felt like it was moving at a snail’s pace.

Steve always took the time to write in his private journal, and based on the fact that they had departed from New York, it was safe to say that they probably weren’t heading to Hawaii and taking the fight to the Japanese. But rather, they were going to Europe to liberate the world from Nazism. But his musings were cut short when they were told to muster at the top deck of the ship.

Captain Miller wearily greeted everyone as they reached the upper deck, the sea taking a hold of the normally stoic captain. “Well, as most people on this ship already know, we’ve been crossing the Atlantic to fight the Germans.” There was a soft murmur that flooded the deck as the men began to whisper to each other.

“But, we are not landing in Europe, we'll be taking a detour and going to be helping out the British in North Africa” He paused for a moment, gauging the reaction of everyone around him before continuing, “They’ve been needing some help beating Rommel, so we’re going to help them finish the fight.” There was an excited energy filling the air of finally seeing some action, and Steve couldn’t help himself but get swept away with the fervor too. 

“Onto further good news, in 5 days we’ll be docking in Algeria. That means no more boats for the foreseeable future.” A few cheers rang out as he said that, “But that also means that from today onwards, we’ll be having mission briefings every morning at 0800, in the afternoon at 1500, and in the evening at 1900, to drill in our jobs for when we land. So everyone, rest up, and be ready to go to war. Everyone dismissed.”

It was somewhat ironic that the next following days were a blur to Steve, when the past few days had felt like a month. Because, before he knew it, he was climbing down a ladder, off the side of a ship, to get into a landing craft that would mark the beginning of an invasion into Africa for all US forces. And it was now, that he wished that they had more time to prepare, because he felt wholeheartedly unready for this fight.

He felt nervous to his stomach, this was the moment that some of them could die… _he could_ _die_.

The small Higgins boat he was in was began rocking violently against the waves, and his nervousness grew with each wave that hit the boat. He heard Lieutenant Sobel yelling out quick, last minute orders to everyone on the boat and said a quick, silent prayer to any entity that was listening before looking forward.

A few of the guys had looked quickly to him, as if to see if he was as nervous or fearful as they were, and all he could do was nod slightly too each one of them, hoping that they didn’t feel or see the fear that seemed to be radiating off his body.

“C’mon guys, this should be a walk in the park.” Steve said as he forced a laugh out. A few men smiled at him, the rest had solemn looks on their face.

“30 SECONDS, NO FEAR!” the driver suddenly screamed out.

Steve steeled his resolve, and as the driver yelled out the final seconds before the ramp dropped, he closed his eyes waiting to hear the bullets and explosions that would fill the air. 

What met them, surprised everyone, as they were met with silence and nothing in their way. 

The French forces had put up a half-hearted defense against them, with only a few of the French and Algerian soldiers wanting to fight for the Nazis.

The US forces had stormed and secured the beaches quickly and with minimal casualties. In fact, some of the French forces had surrendered immediately upon the sight of them, with most of them surrendering in just two days of fighting. Many of those same forces would end up renouncing their allegiance with Germany and swearing to fight for the allied forces.

Steve looked at his journal, the fighting was relatively bloodless, and he had naively hoped the rest of the war would be this easily won. He would be proven wrong a few days later.

* * *

 

After 6 months of tough fighting, and several major losses against Rommel’s Afrika Korps and the small pockets of loyal French forces. Steve, and most of the allied commanders would note, that even with the combined might of the British and US military, this fight would not be won so easily.

Steve continued to jot down notes in his journal and looked around those who were still alive, most of them had made it out, but the desert snipers had gotten the best of Lieutenant Sobel in the first month of combat. And then a few weeks later, those same snipers would mortally wound Platoon Sergeant Horton, quickly leaving Steve in charge of not just of his squad, but a platoon full of men.

He was told that he would only be in charge of the platoon for a week or two at most, before an officer would take over. But that week stretched into a few weeks, and those few weeks stretched into a few months, and by the time they were being shipped back to England, no officer had ever come up to relieve him of his new command.

So it wasn't without merit that when they had shipped back to England to rest, that he was promoted to be a lieutenant in a different company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Steve finally enters the fray with the first US assault against Nazi Germany, and it's in Africa. If you want to read more about it, the campaign was called "Operation Torch" and the "Battle of Tunisia".
> 
> Another piece of history, a lot of the French refused to fight against the Allies (no surprise there), and many had attempted coup's once the US and British forces landed. Most of the Vichy French (loyal to the Nazis) surrendered within the week. 
> 
> Allied losses included: UK - 38,000, US - 18,500, Free French - 18,000. 
> 
> Axis losses included: Germany - 50,000, Italy - 58,000, Vichy French - 3,000 and over 250,000 combined POWs (prisoners of war)


	6. 1943: Operation Husky

_July 9, 1943_

_Sicily_ _, Italy_

 

Being a leader came almost naturally for Steve. He was charismatic and easy to talk to, he was understanding of the problems that occurred and quick with a good answer, and he listened to the problems of his fellow men.

He made sure that everyone knew their assignments and knew how to move as a group, and more importantly, how to take care of one another. But again, the 1 month he had to prepare himself and his platoon was too short before they were shipped out again, as it would be the first time for many of these new recruits to fight in the war.

Steve hardly considered himself a veteran, even after fighting for 6 months in Africa, but he was sure that one of the most nerve wracking parts of the war was getting squished together like a pack of sardines in a flimsy boat, and at the full mercy of the waves and the wind. 

His face twisted in a grimace as he prepared to land again in a foreign land and fight for his life. And while he didn’t believe in superstitions, it didn’t hurt to pray again to whatever higher power was out there, and hope that something was listening.

So he closed his eyes and prayed very quickly that he would make it through this night. It would be the second time that he would land in an uneventful situation. 

With the landing happened at 3AM in the morning, almost all of the enemy had been caught unaware. They had easily snuck onto the beach in force and no one had even noticed. He did a quick head count of his men, making sure that they had all made it onto the beach, before signaling to everyone to spread out.

They had orders to secure the beachhead and then wait for the support vehicles and tanks. But none had arrived in the pitch black darkness. So they sat waiting for vehicles that wouldn’t arrive until it was too late.

Sergeant Evans crawled toward Steve quietly, and whispered in a light Scottish accent, “Dae ye think it’ll be this easy gonnae forward?”

“Thought that too in Africa, landed on a beach that hardly had any defenses set up and an enemy that didn't even want to fight for the first two days, and then Rommel decided to kick the living crap out of us for the next few months.” Steve whispered as he scanned the beachhead. He looked at his watch, worry creeping up his back as he realized that the tanks were way past overdue.

“Just make sure that everyone is ready to fight Evans, and spread the guys out. Johnson, McCoy, and Allen are bunched way to close together.” He gestured for Evans to move, and turned his head back towards the beachhead. The sound of gunfire and explosions were far away, but it seemed as if the parachute infantrymen were in a hell of a firefight.

He hated being proven right. As the sun began to rise, the Nazi forces had mounted together a massive counter attack that was spearheaded by 45 tanks and a huge force of infantry. And even though they had caught the enemy unaware the first time, they were the ones who ended up the most caught off-guard by the ferocity of the sudden attack. It was a costly victory for the US forces, and one that proved even disastrous for Steve’s platoon.

Steve grimaced as he touched his sore ribs. He had gotten knocked back from a tank round that exploded right in front of his feet. McCoy, his platoon medic, was surprised that he was still alive, but, as he explained to McCoy, luck was always on his side.

He closed his eyes in rest, but all that he saw underneath his closed lids were images flashing through his head of the previous battle and the losses that they had suffered. He naively hoped that the Germans had played all of their cards with the massive counterattack. And it had seemed true enough at first, as they had easily pushed back the German forces into the mountains, but what they didn’t know was that they had walked right into a death trap.

It was later in the mountains, in a small town called Troina, that he would see some of the bloodiest fighting in the war. It was 19 days of hell on earth trying to take an insignificant piece of land. They would capture and lose one hilltop nine times before the Germans retreated for good to another hill. And they would give chase and rinse and repeat the same motions. And at the end of the bloody battle, the US had finally beaten back the combined Italian and Nazi forces, but at a great cost. The first division would start earning their nickname as “the bloody first” as they had over 2,500 men dead and over 6,000 wounded in those 19 days.

* * *

 

He guessed that it was a mixed blessing that their division was hit the hardest in the earliest day of the invasion of Italy. Because they were spared from being part of the invasion of mainland Italy. Instead of fighting, they would be relaxing in England for the time being.

When they had finally shipped out of the country, Steve took a final tally of the men around him, they had come in with 45 men, and now they were leaving with 23 men. No doubt, his platoon would probably be folded into another one that lost just as many men. He had heard that some companies, let alone platoons, had come back with only a handful of guys. He couldn’t bear the thought of that.

He could only hope that the ultimate sacrifices made were worth the reward. He didn’t doubt the cause, but he was slowly becoming disillusioned of what war actually meant. It wasn’t a noble thing or an epic story, it was a bloody and cruel war that snatched the lives of those who never got to experience it fully. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Operation Husky (the beginning of the Invasion of Sicily) 
> 
> Ended with 2,721 UK and Canadian dead and 7,937 wounded.
> 
> The US Forces suffered 2,811 dead and 6,471 wounded. 
> 
> Axis casualties included: 4,678 Italians dead and 32,500 wounded. Germany had 4,325 dead, and 13,500 wounded. They would have over 160,000 POWs. 
> 
> Operation Avalanche (Invasion of Mainland Italy) 
> 
> Allies had 2,009 dead and 7,050 wounded.
> 
> Axis had 630 dead, and 3,500 wounded.


	7. 1940: Diana & 1943: Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a bit of going backwards in time, because we left Diana alone. 
> 
> And then back to the present (well present meaning where Steve is currently at).

_September 7, 1940_

 

Helping out resistance fighters wasn’t Diana’s preferred method of fighting, too much sneaking around for her liking. But they apparently needed all the help they could get.

She hadn’t planned on fighting, especially since two months prior she had promised not to intervene, but the senseless firebombing of London had struck a different chord with her and changed her resolve. She had to make sure that Etta and Sameer were fine. But they both telegraphed that it was nothing but a little annoyance and that they could muster through this.

Sameer wanted to fight and even Charlie had sent correspondence to Etta seeing if there was anything he could do. It seemed like the gang wanted to get back together for one more hurrah, even in their mid-50s.

But she had told them to stay safe and to stay put, she didn’t need help. They had already given so much in the first war, and she didn’t need more familiar faces taken away too soon.

One thing was bothering her though, people were disappearing into the night, never to be seen again. This division of the German army, the SS, seemed to be the ones doing the kidnapping. But the string of people they took were random. Farmers, merchants, lawyers, bankers, there didn’t seem to be any logical reason behind why they were taken. And it wasn’t just men, it was women and children and whole families that were disappearing from the countryside.

Regardless, it probably wasn’t for something good. She had wanted to investigate, but she was kept busy by what the resistance needed. And unfortunately for her, it wasn’t her strength that they needed, but her looks.

They had told her that brute strength would get them nowhere and that spying would be far more useful than battering some German heads together. Plus, there was the fact that the Nazis would harshly punish and sometimes execute members of the general populace for any act of resistance. So spy she did, and while she wasn’t very good at it, she guessed that all the men were too entranced with her to care anyway.

If it was one more thing she admired about Steve, it was appreciating how difficult spying could be. Wearing different personas, telling lies without reacting to it, and having to gather so much information quickly and quietly, she never imagined herself doing this.

She had listened to German radio reports, talked to high ranking officers, it seemed as if the line was finally thinning. They were exhausted in manpower, ships, tanks, and vehicles. Fighting in Russia, Africa, Italy, having an occupying force in France, conducting air raids on London, had spread the German army to the point of exhaustion.

The tides were slowly turning.

* * *

 

_December 14, 1943_

 

He hated this part. Absolutely hated it.

He looked around at everyone on the plane. He hated how nervous he was. Ever since he had those dreams of being in a plane that was on fire, he made it a personal mission to stay away from planes.

And no one had told him that jumping out of planes would be a requirement to becoming a ranger. He had begged Captain Winters to be excluded from jumps, using the Captain’s own words against him, _You said it yourself, sir. The chances that we have to jump out of a plane are practically at 0, that’s what the Airborne infantry are for. So couldn’t we say that it doesn’t matter if I skipped out on the jump training?_ He remembers that he was meant with a stern _No_ , and oh well, he was in it now.

Sometimes he did some really stupid things, and this was definitely one of them. He should've just stayed and relaxed with the rest of his old division instead of volunteering to become a ranger when they had asked for volunteers. In fact, some of those idiots from his old outfit had decided to join him in becoming rangers. What fools were they all. 

“Everyone up!” The jumpmaster screamed as he gestured with his hands that everyone stand, “Hook up!” he began shouting out orders in quick succession “Check equipment!” A pause, “Sound off for equipment check!” And Steve could faintly hear the numbers being called out from the back of the plane, “20, okay! 19, okay! 18 okay!...”

Steve swallowed sharply, this would be how he died, in a stupid plane with a stupid parachute, why would anyone ever want to jump out of a perfectly good plane? Why even build planes?! They were glorified death machines! Why did he volunteer to join the Rangers?! He was brought out of his thoughts with a yell directly behind him, “2, OKAY!” He looked at the jumpmaster before screaming out, “1, OKAY!”

The jumpmaster nodded and yelled “Everyone, standby!” before turning to look at the red light turn green, “You’re going to love this lieutenant! GO, GO, GO!”

And with a strangled yelp, Steve jumped and counted out loud, “One, one thousand, Two, one thousand, Three, one thousand!” and yanked at his parachute chord. He had his elbows tucked to his side, his chin on his chest, and his feet and knees together. But that didn’t lessen the force of a parachute opening up with a loud WHUMP.

He opened his eyes, over all of the training he had to endure, this was definitely the worse. Thank god it would hopefully be the last time he would have to do this. And thank god he wasn’t in the Airborne, he thought to himself as he floated slowly down to Earth.

A few months later, and everyone was standing at attention to receive their ranger tabs. They were ready just in time for one major operation. Apparently it would be the one of the largest, if not the largest, operations in the war, and that could only mean one thing. They were heading to France.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case you're wondering. It won't be long before Diana and Steve finally meet up. If anyone's paying attention to the dates. A big thing is about to come up.


	8. 1944: D-Day 1

_May 20, 1944_

_Vierville-sur-mer_

 

There was an excited murmur in the room as Diana stepped into the basement of an abandoned warehouse.

“Lucas, what’s going on?” she whispered as she took in all of the excited faces around her.

“The allies are coming back!” He nearly shouted in jubilation. “It’s been far too long that we had to fight alone, but they’re coming back!”

“So what do we do now?” She stared at the joy in his eyes, and couldn’t bring herself to feel the same. The war would not end just because the allies were back. But nonetheless, it would hopefully end the war sooner than later. So she forced a small smile and tried to take in the excitement of the day. 

“For now, we’ll begin to sabotage the German supply lines by cutting rail and radio lines and passing along notes to the allies of where the troops are being housed. We don’t have to spy anymore, we can play the role of saboteurs.” He said nudging Diana playfully. He had known that she was eager to fight, eager to do something rather than bat her eyes at men.

He wasn’t going to lie, he was attracted to Diana, as was every man in this room, but he and all the rest of them had been softly rejected each time they had tried to get to know her, let alone anyone getting a date out of her. But, that didn’t mean that he nor every other man couldn’t worry about her.

Diana rarely talked to anyone in the resistance, but given that he was the pseudo leader of this resistance cell, the only way she could help was by talking to him. He supposed it was one of the perks of taking the lead on certain things. But she had always seemed unimpressed by his accomplishments, regardless, he still felt deeply for this mysterious woman who suddenly showed up out of nowhere to help 4 years ago. 

“Diana, be careful out there. If you get caught, you know I would do anything to rescue you.” He had always tried making sure that she was given easier tasks, and more importantly less dangerous tasks. But now, the resistance needed everyone to prepare for the upcoming invasion.

She stared coldly into his eyes, words ready to lash out, but he didn’t know any better. She had picked up the nuances of this world and of how women were treated when it came to physical tasks, and while it could be endearing to some, she was a warrior and an amazon, she did not need rescue nor protection from anyone. She needed a partner to help her fight, not to shield her from harm’s way.

“I’ll be fine Lucas.” she looked around at the busyness of the base, “What can I do right now?”

“You could celebrate and join me for dinner tonight?” He said jokingly, watching her reaction. And when silence and a frown greeted him, he sighed, “Let’s go to the map shall we?” He gestured towards a long table, before walking up and setting his hands on the edges of it. He looked down at the map resting on it's surface.

“I’ve already sent Adaline, Max, Kaarlo, and Isabel out north of this road here,” He pointed and traced with his finger a long line down to a bridge, “and they are to work their way all the way down to this bridge, cutting off any radio lines they see, setting demolition charges on these two rail lines, and memorizing any enemy positions, such as make-shift barracks, bunkers, and machine gun emplacements along the way. Astor, Caden, Pace, and Jacalyn are east of them doing the same. So, I can send you, along with 3 others, west of Adaline and her team, to work your way down to the bridge as well.”

He looked up at Diana, “You can take more people if you’d like. We’ll be taking this map in small sectors each day. So there’s no rush.”

Diana nodded, “I can do this alone.” And she held up her hand before Lucas could say another word, “I work better alone.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate the enemy!” He violently whispered, “That foolhardiness can get you killed!”

“And you shouldn’t underestimate me. Trust me on this.” She held his eyes before he broke away.

“No, I will not let you go alone. We need everyone alive, and we have plenty of people.” He turned to a man standing by the rifles in the corner of the room, “Zac-“ Diana turned to leave. “Where are you going?”

 “To do what must be done.” And before Lucas could stop her, a radio operator called out to him that French command needed to urgently speak with him.

All he could do was stare at her back and shake his head before walking to the radio. It was going to be a long day for him.

* * *

 

_London, England_

 

“So Omaha Beach is where we’re headed.” Sgt. McMurtry said as he took one look at the sand table. 

“Seems like it Mac. And we’ll be by ourselves for the most part. The airborne infantry are going to support the landings at Utah.” Steve looked at the map in its entirety and whistled.

“This is gonnae be crazy if we pull this aff.” Sgt. Evans remarked.

Steve nodded his head in agreement. Crazy indeed.

The next week was met with studying and memorizing the sand tables and maps, until they could recite it from memory. Secrecy was at an all-time high, they hadn’t allowed anyone to write letters or use the phones. They were confined on base, and all weekend and shore passes had been revoked. They were forced to go to meetings every hour to drill into them again and again what their objective was.

Then when it seemed like they were going to finally put the plan into action as they all boarded the transport ship. They were told that they would remain on the boat until further notice. That notice would come a week later.

“Being on this ship is making me stir-crazy.” McCoy lamented out loud to no one in particular.

“Shut it McCoy. We would’ve been doing the same thing if we were on land anyway.” McMurtry retorted as he looked up from his book. “Being on the ship now means we’ll be the first to land anyway. So you’ll see land soon enough.”

Steve looked back down at his journal, they were prepared to go to war yesterday. But it got called off because apparently the Gods were against them and threw in every type of weather condition at them. High winds and heavy seas made it more likely for the landing crafts to sink before even reaching the beach. And personally, he would’ve preferred not to drown carrying 40 pounds of gear on him as well. Heavy winds combined with low clouds also apparently meant that the airborne couldn’t deploy either. The heavy winds would push the soldiers way off course, and the low clouds meant that the pilots had no clue where to drop the guys. So, all in all, that day went FUBAR. 

Steve rubbed his temple, being cooped up in a docked ship for a week was getting to him a little. There was nothing much to do. Or maybe it was the fact that the shore was so tantalizing close to them, but they were forbidden to leave the ship. He was cut from the musings as he heard a loud horn blast and then felt a slight jerk.

“Hallelujah!” Someone to his far right screamed, it seemed like the Gods were with them now. He closed his journal and began to do run a mental checklist of the gear he had and if he was missing anything. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach, and it seemed like with every breath his heart would beat faster and faster.

Suddenly he felt homesick, he hadn’t really thought about it. I mean, he thought about home a lot, but he never missed it because there was always something to do, to think about, to worry about. But, right now, he suddenly wished that he could go home. He couldn’t shake off this nervous feeling that it was going to be bad. He had the same feeling when they were easily pushing the Nazis back in Sicily into that dreaded mountain range and that miserable town called Troina. And now he felt it here.

Steve wouldn’t say he was a genius, but he knew how to put together pieces in a puzzle, had known it when he first looked at the map and sandtables nearly two weeks ago. In his landings in Africa and in Italy, they had barely used a tenth of what was here right now, the fact that they had Australians, Canadians, British, French, and US forces all hitting this one beach at once meant that the defense of this place must be big. He could only hope that his luck would carry him through and maybe gift him a less defended and fortified part of the beach.

He swallowed these feelings down and tried to go to sleep, if everything went to plan, he probably wasn’t going to get any rest for a while.

* * *

 

_June 6, 1944_

_Coast of Normandy_

 

 

Steve awoke to a thunderous noise. It had happened suddenly and without warning. A few seconds later, he heard the ship alarms going off, that was their queue to muster up topside. He looked around, some had jumped up and began immediately gearing up, some had just sat up from their cots rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

“Time to move gents. Hustle now, don’t want to be late for this party!” He screamed out to everyone before gearing up himself.

“Bones, make sure you and your team grab extra med supplies before we kick off. We may need them!” McCoy nodded to him and gestured for his team to listen as he barked out his own orders.

“McMurtry, Whittley, Compton, Evans, get your squads in line and to the top deck!” Steve looked around at the organized chaos before he made his way up the ship.

As he stepped up onto the deck, the sight he took in was nothing short of breathtaking. He had seen invasions before, but the magnitude of how many ships, planes, and blimps out in front of him was mind numbing. He'd never seen anything to this scale. The entire horizon was filled with ships, as far as the eye could see, and even in the dark sky, he could see the planes blotting out the sky. Even in daylight, the sun could’ve been blocked by the sheer amount of things that were in the air right now.

Captain Winters approached him from his left. “It’s something to see isn’t it?”

All Steve could do was nod as he looked on. The other platoon leaders had finally started to slowly emerge from below decks to huddle around the captain.

Winters spoke up again, “I’ll be stepping off with Lipton and first platoon. Trevor you’ll be on my left with second platoon, Nixon you’ll be on my right with third platoon, and Welsh you should land behind me with weapons platoon. Now, we’ve all trained for this moment and I know you guys have had this drilled into your heads for the few weeks, but just humor me.”

He took a moment to breathe, “Remember, keep your platoons moving, and don’t stop moving. The beach has most likely been pre-sighted, so expect accurate artillery and mortar fire right on top of us. Tanks should arrive shortly after we land. So we gotta clear those tank traps and clear paths for the tanks to move into the beach. Without the tanks, it makes our job a lot harder to take the beachhead. Don’t do things alone, one man is a waste of ammunition, five men and we’re in business. Keep your actions clear, and above all else- keep moving.” Winters looked at the deck and saw the tight congregation of men staring at him.

“All men on deck Captain!” Sgt. Stone shouted out before saluting.

“Let’s get to work gentlemen. I’ll see you on the beach.” Winters saluted at them before climbing down to the waiting boats below.

In no short order, everyone was packed together in the small landing craft ready to go. But it wouldn’t be for another 20 minutes before the engines would sound off, signaling to everyone that they were finally on the way.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, FUBAR is Fucked up beyond all recognition


	9. 1944: D-Day 2

_June 6, 1944  
_

_Carentan_

 

  
Diana woke up to the sound of planes buzzing loudly overhead. _Another German air raid._ She thought wearily to herself.

But paused as she heard the sound move closer inland. Which struck her as odd, seeing as how she didn’t remember hearing the planes move out to the ocean earlier that day. That and the planes sounded much louder and lower than before.

She walked to her window and opened the shutters to stare up into the sky. _They are flying much lower today._ Was her first thought, followed by the slow realization that those were not fighter planes. Those looked like normal passenger planes. And there were so many of them, she had never seen so many planes fly overhead at once.

What pushed her into action was the sudden gunfire around her as anti-aircraft guns began firing all around her. And she saw as men jumped from the sky with canopies over their head. It was the invasion, and it had finally begun.

She moved quickly to her closet and grabbed her armor, lasso, and shield, and began searching for her sword, before remembering that it had been destroyed in the previous war. She quickly donned on her gear before pausing to move her fingers over the armor and shield, it had been too long since she had last worn it. But it had still fit snugly across her body.

She closed her eyes and tried to pull up from her memory the map and the markers she had made for the resistance. But only bits and pieces came to her, with the nearby gunfire and explosions rattling her mind. She took a deep breath to focus on her memories, but instead, a better idea came up to mind. Follow the gunfire, there was bound to be soldiers there.

So out she went, leaping out of her windowsill and to the nearest sound of gunfire.

It didn’t take her long to spot a large gun manned by a small group of soldiers shouting excitedly at one another. She looked around to see if there were soldiers nearby, and seeing none, she jumped towards them with a battle cry.

At first the Germans were caught off guard by the yell. They turned, expecting to see enemy soldiers. But all they saw was a woman that seemed to be flying towards them at an insanely quick speed. The initial shock of seeing an unbelievable sight was all Diana needed to close the distance between herself and the men. 

She smashed into them like battering ram, the first man knocked into the side of the anti-aircraft gun and was out immediately. The second man quickly followed with a bash to the head with her shield. By the time the soldiers had recovered from the shock, it was too late, five men laid on the ground beneath her. The rest had tried to fire at her, but quickly realized that nothing could stop this crazy woman.

It was over in a few seconds, and Diana looked at the giant gun in front of her. Seeing nothing in front of her that could destroy it, she instead used her shield to smash the controls, rendering it useless. Nodding to herself, she turned to go to the next gun that she heard. 

She was cutting through the woods to the next gun when she suddenly stopped and lifted her shield in the direction of a sound she had heard. She narrowed her eyes at the bushes and lowered her stance, ready to pounce on whatever was there.

She heard what sounded like a cricket, and tensed her shoulders before hearing a voice whisper out, “Thunder.”

It sounded distinctly American, so she lowered her shield and whispered back, “American?” She stood still for a second, before hearing the bushes rustling again. She moved forward to investigate when all of a sudden a young boy popped out looking lost and wide eyed.

“Got stuck on those branches back there-“ the boy stared at her, “uhm, nice getup”.

“Are you lost?” Diana said as she slid her shield across her back.

“No ma’am- I mean, yes, sorta.” He babbled on, “I was supposed to land near a town called Sainte-Mère-Église, and I have no idea where I landed.” He paused to take a breath, “My name is Charlie by the way.” He said extending his hand to her.

“Well Charlie, you are maybe 15 kilometeres away from Sainte-Mère-Église, you’re closer to Vierville and Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.”

“Well, I’m screwed.” He said dejectedly. Before he jumped to the ground and motioned Diana to get down. He pointed his rifle towards the edge of the woods towards the road, before flicking off the safety. She laid on the ground, curious as to what he had seen or heard, before hearing the sound of horses and German voices in the air.

“Let them pass, they might not see us.” Charlie whispered softly to Diana.

But she had different plans, the moment she had a clear line of sight on all of the men, she leapt into action. And just like before, it was over in a few seconds. She turned back to look at Charlie who was now standing there with his mouth open. “THAT WAS AMAZING!” He screamed out.

She leapt towards him and landed softly, “Let’s leave before more soldiers arrive.” She pointed in the direction towards the city, “Shall we?”

He nodded dumbly before following her lead into the woods.

They had traveled maybe half a mile before they encountered one of Charlie’s squadmates. And before long, the pair had grown to 13 men (and woman) some from different outfits and units. But she was glad to see the relief on their faces as they saw one another, glad that they weren’t the only ones lost.

She had picked up a few things from the whispered conversations of the men behind her, some wondering why a woman with weird armor was there, if they had seen a buddy or their unit, where they were exactly, and Charlie’s exaggerated stories of what he had saw briefly of Diana flying into the air and quickly putting down soldiers like they were nothing. She smiled to herself at the last thought, the innocence and wonder he exuded was something she had experienced before.

But it didn’t take long for everyone to believe the wild stories the rookie was telling, as they saw firsthand how devastating the woman in front of them was. By then there group of 13 morphed into a small platoon of men. 

They had traveled maybe two hours and were getting close to the town of Sainte-Mère-Église, when everyone froze and dropped to the ground as they heard a truck rushing towards them. Diana turned to face the jeep, her shield out and ready to fight. Before it stopped suddenly, and a blonde woman came jumping out of the carriage .

“Diana!” Isabel yelled out in relief. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She said as she rushed her way towards the armor clad woman. Her face morphing into puzzlement at what Diana was wearing, “Lucas sent at least ten search parties out looking for you when he heard from Kaarlo that you weren’t in your apartment.” 

She paused to stare at her armor, “Where did you get that?”

Diana spoke up, ignoring her last question, “I thought myself more useful fighting, than waiting around doing nothing.” She paused, letting the words sink in, “I’ve been helping these men to Sainte-Mère-Église and I plan to help them liberate the town.” She gestured to the men behind her, “Would you like to help?”

Isabel stood dumbfounded by what was occurring, “Uhm, well, Lucas needs your help.” She was cut off by Diana raising her hand, “These men need my help more than Lucas needing to see me.”

Isabel retorted back, “Lucas was given orders by some allied commander to check on the beaches by Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, apparently they lost contact with all the men that landed there. And you’re our best spy! Lucas wanted to send you to see what was going on and to report back!” She paused to take a breath, “We’ve tried to get close, but there are too many German soldiers moving towards the beach. You’re the only who has snuck past so many soldiers before! We need your help!” She said, pleading for Diana to change her mind.

Diana paused and looked back at the men who were now standing and staring at her. She felt the need to protect them, but before she could make her decision one of the soldiers had spoken up.

“Ma’am, you’ve done plenty enough for us. And I reckon that if we stumble upon some trouble, that we’ve got enough here to give ‘em hell. And if what that lady is saying is true, then the boys at the beach will need your help more than we will.” He nodded to her first, before everyone else had nodded at her, as if giving permission for her to leave.

Charlie spoke up suddenly, “If anyone can help them, it’d be you.” The men around him chuckled before voicing out similar agreements.

Diana smiled and nodded back to them before looking at Isabel, “I will go then.”

Isabel turned and walked back to the truck, “Perfect, get in the tru-“ She stopped mid-sentence as she saw Diana start to run on her left, “What are you doi-“ she stopped again seeing Diana leap into the sky and seemingly fly away, “Oh.”

She turned to the men staring at where Diana had just jumped, “Did you know she could do that?”

The men turned to stare at her before shaking their head in unison.


	10. 1944: D-Day 3

_June 6, 1944  
Omaha Beach_

 

This was turning into a mess of a fight real fast. It had all started when Steve noticed that a lot of the landing crafts were sinking into the ocean. Had he taken a closer look at the sinking boats, he would’ve noticed that ALL of the boats that had sunk were carrying tanks. Though he had a perfectly good reason as to why he didn’t notice that those were the tanks that were sinking, because it felt as if his boat was about to flip over any second.

He had been in choppy waters before, but these were the most violent waves he had ever felt, and since yesterday’s weather condition was apparently worse, he could’ve almost guaranteed that they would’ve sunk before even making it to the beach. And with the violent twisting and turning combined with ocean water assaulting their eyes, noses, and mouth, almost everyone ended up becoming sea sick.

But riding through the violent waves was the easy part.

Steve had been through the Kasserine Pass in Africa, through the beach counterattack in Sicily, and the bloody battle in the mountains of Troina. But nothing would ever compare to the feeling of dread and hopelessness when the ramp had dropped and the first few men were cut to shreds before they even knew what had happened.

When it became apparent that the machine guns were only being pointed at the open ramp, he ordered everyone still in the boat to go over the sides. Which was almost as bad as exiting through the front, as the water was so deep that he saw men drown around him from the equipment and wool that they were wearing. 

But he had eventually made it to the shore, clinging to his own life, only to be met by a slew of body parts and dead men.

 _Had anyone made it alive?_ He looked around desperately, and saw men huddled behind the log ramps and behind the metal hedgehogs ahead of him. Fear had taken hold of every man on this side of the beach.

“Move forward” He choked out, water still in his lungs, he gestured wildly for those that were able to move. “We’re sitting ducks if we stay here!”

He moved a few steps before a nearby explosion knocked him off his feet. It had felt like someone had taken a bat to his chest. He laid on his back, floating in the shallow water gasping out loud desperate for air, before he felt someone dragging him. He looked up and saw Whittley doing his best in trying to get them both under cover, and right before they had reached the hedgehog, he was hit in the chest.

“Medic!” Steve shouted as he rolled over to his stomach and began crawling towards the metal structure. “MEDIC!” He shouted desperately as he looked around for anyone who could help. 

“Whittley, stay with me! I’m coming to get you!” He got to his knees and prepared himself to grab Whittley, but before he could move, bullets had rained down upon the wounded man and those that were around him.

Steve leaned back into the hedgehog. He felt fear gnawing into his legs, making them feel like they were ten tons each. He didn’t want to move. He saw to his right, Winters and Nixon rallying the company and running forward. He got up himself to run with them, but he shortly crouched back down to lean on the barrier.

His legs were still rebelling against him.

“Come on Trevor. WE GOT TO MOVE!” Evans screamed out, as he took cover in a nearby hole.

Steve only closed his eyes to catch his breath and steel his resolve. But when he did, he felt a pull from his body, and he was suddenly looking at himself in a very similar situation. But instead of having his gear or his rifle, he had on a heavy coat, a simple uniform underneath, and a shotgun. He saw himself run through where thousands of men had fallen, following this beautiful woman into battle. And he knew that in that moment, he had felt no fear. But before he could look to see this woman turn around to face him, he was sucked back into the present.

“LIEUTENANT! ARE YOU OK?” Evans had appeared by his left shoulder with a worried look on his face.

“I’m fine Evans.” He paused to take one last deep breath and nodded. “MOVE OUT!” He screamed out loud, more to himself than for the others that were around him. But it had worked nonetheless, as he heard men around him scream in anger and determination.

The next 400 yards felt like the longest moments of his life. The air around him was exploding in flesh and blood. The wool clothes he had on had sucked in and retained all of that cold ocean water that was freezing his limbs. By the time he had reached the seawall with the rest of the company, he had felt like he had finished two back to back marathons.

“Where are the damn tanks?” He heard someone shout.

“Floundering in the channel!” he heard a familiar voice answer back.

Steve looked around and saw his former Captain laying against the seawall with a radio in his hand before throwing it away in disgust.

He spotted Winters giving out orders around him and began a slow crawl to him. “Captain, Lieutenant Trevor reporting for orders, sir!”

“Where’s your platoon?”

Steve looked around and saw Evans and Compton near each other with a handful of men. He looked at the Captain and gestured toward his two sergeants.

“We need more men! Gather up as many men as you can, and grab ammo and as many bangalores as you can handle. No tanks made it ashore, so we’re going to blow our own way out of this hellhole.”

Steve nodded and quickly crawled back to his men that were starting to create a makeshift rally point. “How many guys made it?” He shouted at Evans and Compton.

“12… and I saw McMurtry further behind with maybe 5 guys. But I haven’t seen anyone from Whittley’s squad or Whittley himself!” Compton answered. 

“He’s dead. If you see any men from his squad, tell them to join your squad for now!” Steve said as he pointed to Compton. “Right now, we need to gather as much ammo and bangalores as we can. The tanks didn’t make it, so we’re going to make our own entry point!” Steve gestured for Evans and Compton to move out before running out himself to gather supplies.

Almost 2 hours had passed since Steve had landed on the beach, and they just now seemed to have a way to break through the obstacles in front of them.

By now, most of his platoon was assembled, 21 men out of the 49 that had landed that morning. Steve looked around him, both the initial and second landings were barely effective without tanks. And their luck would have it that all of the radio operators were either dead, or the equipment destroyed because of the water, gunfire, or explosions. So they had no way of asking for more men or for artillery support. They were truly by themselves in that moment.

The fact that they were getting this far was a miracle in itself. The moment the bangalores exploded, he knew that the tides could finally turn in their favor.

Men surged through the openings created by the improvised explosives. It took another 30 minutes to storm their way up the cliffs, but they had done it. But just because they had made it to the top didn’t mean the enemy would give up or retreat. The fighting had become more sporadic and close quarters with nothing but two trenches parallel to one another, with maybe 30 feet separating the two opposing forces.

Fighting was fierce, but with the depleted US forces, it was hard to make a foothold to push forward. Until a miracle occurred and turned the tides permanently in their favor.

It was simultaneously the most terrifying and awesome thing Steve had ever witnessed. A woman descending from the sky with a large BOOM into the ground. The force of her landing so powerful that it had knocked up a handful of German soldiers from where she landed.

He felt his guys around him pause and just stare in stricken silence at this one woman army throwing men around like it was nothing. Her jumping away from them and into another group of enemy soldiers finally pushed him into action.

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” He lifted himself out of the trench and followed this crazy lady that appeared out of thin air, partly because it felt vaguely familiar, the other because she was their tank support that they needed. Barreling directly through enemies and causing enough of a distraction for his guys to push forward, it looked like the Gods were on their side today, quite literally and metaphorically.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Diana about to meet up for the first time in a long time!
> 
> Also, some things about Operation Overlord (D-Day into France).
> 
> The winds and weather were really poor, but it just so happened that the defense at Utah Beach (American assault) were relatively light. They took about 200 casualties (dead and wounded). The airborne troops from the 101st and 82nd airborne managed to link up with the ground forces, so that plan more or less went according to plan.
> 
> Omaha Beach was another story. Because of the weather conditions the tanks all sunk before reaching the beach. The initial wave of troops couldn't move up with no support. The second assault wave proved almost as ineffective. But, the 2nd rangers managed to improvise an opening which lead to the eventual victory. They suffered over 4,700 casualties (dead and wounded) in just those 3 hours. Including over 26 artillery pieces, 50 tanks, 50 landing craft, and 10 large vessels. The battle got so bad, that the commanding General of the US First Army considered retreating from Omaha and having General Montgomery (British army) come over from the nearby beach to secure it. 
> 
> So if you're keeping a tally, on that day alone casualty figures:
> 
> Utah Beach (US): 197  
> Omaha Beach (US): 4,700  
> Juno Beach (Canada/UK): 914  
> Gold Beach (UK): 1,100  
> Sword Beach (UK): 683  
> US Airborne Infantry: 2,499 (including 1,257 Captured/MIA)  
> UK Airborne Infantry: 800


	11. 1944: D-Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They meet!

_June 6, 1944_  
Omaha Beach  


 

Diana had smelt the destruction and chaos miles away. But it took seeing the chaos in front of her for it to sink in, and she was stunned by the death and destruction that lay in front of her.

She had seen the horrors of man before, when they had first invaded Themyscira and brought war to the front door of the Amazons, and again when she was in Veld in the trenches all those years ago. But she had never seen so many dead in front of her. As far as her eyes could see were body parts, destroyed boats, and dead men. The sea had been stained by the blood of the thousands that lay in front of her.

She acted out of instinct when she jumped towards the action and crashed down to the earth. She had lashed out at the ones who could cause this amount of destruction. She went from place to place, knocking down enemy soldier after enemy soldier, rage filling her blood.

It took 15 minutes for the rest of the German soldiers to surrender. Stunned into submission by this overwhelming power, and afraid to fight against it.

She threw down her shield in anger before sitting down and covering her face with her hands. She was too late to save those men down there. But at least she could have stopped any further bloodshed.

She heard footsteps approaching her slowly before a familiar voice rang out, “Evans, Compton, McMurtry, gather up your squads and police these weapons. They’re just unconscious. And pass the word down the line will ya? Intelligence is gonna be happy with all of these prisoners.”

Diana perked up at that voice. It was impossible. She lowered her hands and looked at the offending voice and froze. Watching as this impossible figure came walking towards her. She almost flinched when he stopped right in front of her and crouched down to go face to face with her.

“Thanks for the help back there. Miss-“ there was a long pause in his statement before he rubbed the back of his neck and murmured a quick thanks before turning to leave.

“Wait!” She half-screamed out. He stopped in his tracks and turned around with a weird look on his face.

She drank in his features, his hair was much shorter, and he was a lot younger than the memory of her Steve. But his eyes and his body language was all the same. And his voice, just his voice had made her feel something that was long repressed, and had been thought gone for many years. She met his eyes again and saw that he was nervously fidgeting, and realized that she had told him to stop a few minutes ago. But she couldn’t help herself but to stare at him, she almost feared that any sudden movements and he would disappear, or that in her craze his face would reappear as another man.

“What’s your name?” Was all she could come up with, as her brain had decidedly stopped working. But who could blame her, a long, lost love was standing impossibly in front of her. She had seen his plane explode all those years ago, and there was no way that anyone could’ve survived that, even she could’ve been seriously injured or killed from that explosion.

“Lieutenant Steven Trevor, at your service ma’am.” He said puffing his chest ever so slightly.

“I am Diana Prince.” She replied as she nearly jumped up to offer her hand.

He shakes her hand, and it’s decidedly real and not an apparition. And she smiles so hard that it feels like her cheeks will split. But she didn’t mind that, she didn’t mind that at all.

Their reunion was cut short as a Scottish man ran up to him and stared at the two before whispering something in his ear. She reluctantly dropped his hand, a portion of the warmth in her body vanishing instantly.

“Well, it was nice to meet you Diana. And if you’re still in the area after all of this is done, I’d like to see you again.” Steve turned to walk away before she answered back, “I’d love to Mr. Trevor.”

She picked up her shield with a smile on her face. She had decided right then and there to follow him wherever he went. He would need her help, and he wouldn’t die on her watch this time, she would do anything to make sure that she could protect him.

* * *

 

_Earlier_

Steve rushed after this whirlwind of destruction, with his platoon hot on his heels. Before he heard a shot to his right and laid onto the ground. This was still a war zone, and as fast and as deadly as this woman was, she couldn’t take care of them all.

So they had slowed their pace down, taking out any stragglers in between. But she was making quick work of the rest of the defenders.

As he went from foxhole to foxhole, he suddenly noticed that the German soldiers were just knocked out, with some of them groaning in pain. _Had she just knocked them all out?_ He questioned to himself. But before he could think of anything else, he heard heavily accented voices scream out “WE SURRENDER! WE SURRENDER!”

And just like that, the fight seemed to be over. He looked at his platoon and saw them beginning to relax. Some started crying, some laughing, others started to hug each other. The fight was over for now.

He pushed himself off the ground and made his way to the woman who had dropped to her knees all of a sudden. He hurried his step a bit before remembering the unconscious soldiers in the foxholes. He stopped and turned around to address his men, “Evans, Compton, McMurtry, gather up your squads and police these weapons. They’re just unconscious. And pass the word down the line will ya? Intelligence is gonna be happy with all of these prisoners.”

Steve nodded to them before turning back around to see the woman stare at him. He walked up to her slowly, unsure if she was going to attack him. And God help him if she did, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. So he approached her like a man trying to pet a lion, slowly and very carefully.

He stopped right in front of her and he could’ve sworn he saw her flinch a little, so he dropped to a crouch, in the hopes that she would see that he was harmless.

“Thanks for the help back there. Miss-“ Steve paused long enough, hoping for her to fill in the blank. But seeing her speechless and just wordlessly staring at him made him feel suddenly self-conscious. So he did what any nervous man would do in that situation, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and mumbled another quick thanks before standing up and turning to leave. 

“Wait!” And he immediately stopped and quickly turned back to her, questioning to himself why he was so eager to hear her say something. Was it because she had possibly saved his life and the life of many others with her timely intervention? Or was it because she was the most beautiful thing that he’d seen in years, hell, his entire life? And the answer was, it was probably a bit of both.

He didn’t say anything, but after a minute of silence and what felt akin to her staring deep into his soul, he started to fidget a little. After another minute of silence, and he felt as if he were suddenly naked under her intense scrutiny. He was about to say something, to break this new awkwardness he felt, before she suddenly spoke out.

“What’s your name?”

“Lieutenant Steven Trevor, at your service ma’am.” He said as he puffed his chest ever so slightly.

“I am Diana Prince.” She stood up and offered up her hand. He stared at the hand for a second before taking it in his own. And just like that, she had smiled so brightly at him that he thought he had died and gone to heaven. Or more appropriately, he knew he fell in love with her that moment.

He was brought out of his own moment when he felt Evans appear out of nowhere and started to whisper to him, “Captain Winters wants to debrief you. Think he wants to know how we cleared the beach so quickly and how we have so many prisoners.”

Steve just wordlessly nodded, his mind slowly turning back on as he let go of Diana’s hand, “Well it was nice to meet you Diana. And if you’re still in the area after all of this is done, I’d like to see you again.” Steve had walked maybe 4 steps before he heard her answer back, “I’d love to Mr. Trevor.”

Steve continued walking with a small skip to his step and a grin on his face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will he remember Diana? TIME WILL TELLLLL
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! :)
> 
> Also, from the previous chapter, I had a small throwback to Saving Private Ryan with Captain Miller at the sea wall with the broken radio in his hand (if anyone caught it).


	12. 1944: D-Day 5

_June 6, 1944_

_Omaha Beach_

 

Steve rested alone against the barn of a nearby farm, watching his men pick random places to lay down and sleep. The sun had long gone and dusk had set long ago. And as all of his men had begun to rest after the long day, he closed his eyes to join them in their slumber. 

But, sleep wouldn't come, images flashed through his head of that strange, but beautiful woman. Which meant either he was lonelier than he had thought, or someone put a spell on him, because he had never fixated on someone this hard before. 

 _Well_ , he reasoned with himself,  _it wasn’t every day you saw a woman literally flying around and then throw a 180 pound guy like he was a wet napkin_. But funnily enough, it wasn’t her strength or her beauty that kept her in his mind. It was how he had felt a sense of familiarity with her, but he had definitely never seen or heard of her before today.

If anything, he understood what people meant about _going through déjà vu_ , something he never thought he would experience. But then again, going through this terrible war was something he never thought he would experience either.

He stared out at the night sky, and pulled his jacket in tighter. He wasn’t going to get any sleep, so he might as well walk around and explore the little town of _Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer_ he said in his head with an exaggerated French accent. The streets were still busy with movement. Supply trucks, tanks, and troops marching along towards their destination.

* * *

  _BEEP BEEP_

Steve jumped out of the way as a jeep came barreling past him. So much was going on, but his company was given a quick reprieve for taking part in the initial assault of Omaha Beach. A rest that was well deserved. But his restless energy pushed him to the point that he needed to do something rather than lie around or sleep.

Looking around the town he saw the townsfolk trying to mend the destruction that the earlier battle had left upon them. And while he knew that it wasn’t intentional that no one was helping them, he did feel partly responsible for what had happened here.

So he rushed over to help pull things out from the rubble and to help bandage what he could with his limited first aid knowledge.

He had worked maybe an hour before he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and as he peered over his shoulder, he saw the thing that had been plaguing his thoughts, with a smile so infectious that he couldn’t help but smile back.

“Care to lend a hand?” He grunted out as he pulled a piece of wood out of the way. He looked at Diana wordlessly pick up larger piece of wood and lift it with one hand, before pulling it away. “Show off.” he muttered jokingly to her.

Diana laughed out loud, it had been a long time since she’d laugh like this and it felt great. She felt the walls around her heart, that had grown larger over time, becoming quickly undone by just the mere presence of Steve. And it was something she didn’t mind at all. 

The fact that she had saw him want to help others, just for the sake of helping those in need, was indeed an indictment that men could still be good, for she had the perfect example in front of her. Sure, what she did could be considered stalking, but she had wanted to make sure that nothing would happen to him.

She had almost leapt in front of the careless jeep earlier, but he had jumped back before anything bad had happened. And watching him smile and joke around with the people as he helped them rebuild their destroyed town made her heart ache at the thought that she had lost him before, and while the world of men may not have deserved her, it also didn’t deserve him as well.

* * *

 “So tell me about yourself.” Steve said as he took a break and sat down to stare at her.

“What would you like to know?” She stopped working as well and sat in front of him, giving all of her attention to the tired man.

“I don’t know. Maybe where you’re from? I think your accent is similar to maybe somewhere from the Mediterranean? But if you’d like, I can start?” She shook her head before closing her eyes and remembering a home that she had left so long ago.

“I’m from a small island near Greece. Where the beaches were as white as the snow and the sea a deep crystal blue. Lush forests surrounded parts of the land, the other parts were filled with grassy plains that extended out as far as the eye could see. It was a place full of life and peace. I’ve not yet seen any other land that could match the serenity of it.” She said wistfully as she opened her eyes to look into his eyes, “Your eyes remind me of the waves back home.” She blushed as she realized that those words were out loud and cleared her throat, “What about you?”

“Well, I grew up in Los Angeles. And it was definitely not a beautiful place, but I guess what it lacked in beauty it made up for by the good people in it. Never knew my mom or dad, they had apparently abandoned me as a baby in front of an orphanage. But... who needed them anyways, the owner of the orphanage took me in and treated me like a son.”

There was a pause and she saw him deep in thought before he started again, “I’ve always felt pretty lucky in life, like a higher power was trying to make up for the fact that I had a pretty tough upbringing... That sounds crazy doesn’t it?”

She held his gaze as she took in his hands bluntly stating, “Nothing you say will make me think you’re crazy. I know we have just met, but I feel like I know you.” She didn’t want to let go and it seemed like he didn’t mind either.

He opened his mouth to speak, “You know. If it were anyone else, I’d probably think you were a bit crazy-“ He hears her chuckle at that, “but for some strange reason, I feel like I’ve met you before. Or at least I feel like I've known you from somewhere- probably from a past life.”

He meant it as a joke, but at the suggestion of a past life, her eyes flickered up and she grasped his hands a little tighter.

“From a past life” she murmured and smiled before letting go of his hands. “Wouldn’t sound so crazy.”

“I suppose so.” He smiled back and took in her whole appearance for the first time that night. He frowned before taking off his jacket and handing it to her, “Here, take this.”

Diana looked at the offering for a second and accepted it, before putting it on. She felt her soul and skin warm at the smell and touch of the jacket. But soon an uncomfortable feeling sat upon her chest and lingered there. In her mind's eye, the sight of hundreds, if not thousands of dead men on the beach had suddenly flooded her thoughts, and any one of them could have easily been Steve, and she would have been powerless to do anything. Her smile soon morphed into a gentle frown.

Steve went to lean against the nearby rubble, but as his back laid upon the stone, it quickly crumbled under his weight, leaving him grasping at air as he fell down. _Smooth_ was the only word that accompanied his head, his cheeks stained red with embarrassment as he looked at Diana who was failing miserably at suppressing her smile.

He slowly put his hands against the back of his head, “Meant to do that.” Was the only thing that he could say as Diana lifted her head to laugh, unable to hide her amusement any longer.

It was times like these that Diana had rarely experienced, she didn’t know if it was intentional, but Steve had somehow always managed to bring her out of these funks, and this Steve was no different than the one in her memory. It was rare for a person to be able to have this much of an effect on her, even in her old life at Themyscira.

She laid down beside him, feeling reminiscent of when they were on the boat staring up at the stars and sighed happily.

Steve for his part felt his heart racing at 100 miles per hour as Diana laid down next to him. Sure, he wasn’t a stranger to sleeping with women, but he wasn’t afraid to admit that he was out of practice with what to do next. So he just laid there staring up into the sky, in the middle of this broken house surrounded by rubble, and listened to her breathe.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy, and just wanted to say thanks again for the lovely comments on the previous chapter!


	13. 1944: Operation Overlord 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for the kind compliments, it does mean a lot!

_July 19, 1944_

_Normandy, France_

 

The days continued, and Steve wasn’t an idiot to notice that in almost every patrol he volunteered for and every battle he walked into, it was almost a finished battle with knocked out Germans everywhere.

He had one person in particular to thank, and sometimes he’d even see glimpses of that person jumping around. Men from his unit and even other units had been commenting on this flying goddess who leapt fearlessly into combat, giving her a myriad of names, “Wonder Woman” was the one that stuck around the most.

And after every evening, she would come greet him as if nothing happened, and they would sit down and talk to each other. Getting to know each other in a way that seemed familiar and new all at the same time.

“You know, guys everywhere are beginning to think you’re some kind of good luck charm. Even heard a guy in the 5th rangers talk about if they see a woman flying in the air, you’re in luck because the battle’s going to be over by the time you get there.” Steve chuckled at her, it was also common knowledge, from the highest ranking officers down to the common soldier, that she seemed to follow a particular unit in the 2nd rangers. To the point where she had become an unofficial member of that unit. Leading to more dangerous and crazier assignments, all of which would be handled with the ease of a normal assignment and minimal loss.

She feigned ignorance at the comment, choosing instead to talk about Steve’s past. “So this Aletta, she took you in?”

“Yeah, she was like a mother to me when I had none. Believed in me when really no one cared. I mean, all of the orphans around me. They all had tough lives, and she took care of us the best she could. But she always made sure that I was always putting everything I had into anything that I tried. She probably wanted me to avoid the war at all costs. But, she also raised me to believe that once I put my mind on something and that once I found what I needed to do, nothing could get in my way.” He paused, remembering the time before the war and sighed.

“I really do miss her. I planned on actually visiting her older sister and brothers in London. But, I never got the time to visit. It’s been awhile since she’s seen either of them, with how expensive it is to travel. So I just wanted to tell her sister and brother that she was doing fine, and that she’s bringing hope to those that have none.” He looked at Diana and shook his head, “Sorry, this has all been about me. You’re probably sick of it by now... You told me that your mother and aunt were really tough on you, but it seems to have turned out alright.”

Diana nodded her head, “My mom was always against me learning how to fight. They taught me a lot about other things, like I mentioned before. But I guess after hearing about the stories about how my mother and aunt fought, it just wanted me to strive to be like her. My aunt was the one who taught me behind my mother’s back.”

She looked back at the time when they were caught by her mother, and how she had never felt so guilty in her life. “But, I guess once my mother saw what I was becoming, she allowed me to train to the fullest. I think once my mother was on board with me learning to fight, she pushed me to my limits. It’s what also made me realize that I was also different from every other person there as well.” She paused, remembering the day she had awoken a dormant power, the same day she had saw Steve fall from the sky. 

“So, who or what, exactly are you? I mean, if it’s not too much to ask. But I think we know each other pretty well now.” He was blathering now, and his brain was telling him to shut up, but he needed to know. “I mean, you aren’t human. Or are you? I’ve heard of human experimentation, but I doubt your mother would put you through it. I mean she was tough but she didn’t seem cruel-“ He immediately stopped as he saw Diana raise her hand.

A twinkle appeared in her eye, “Would you believe that I was sculpted from clay and that God blew life into me?”

Steve sputtered, “Well, that’s neat… That would make some sense I suppose.” He looked up into the sky, deep in thought, as if seriously considering the answer to be true.  It was something Diana always admired about Steve, he wasn’t gullible, but he listened and tried to understand. He always free of judgment and always patient, a trait that she found out in time, was uncommon in man.

She spoke out, “A jest, of course. My mother told me that to avoid the conversation of the” she cleared her throat, “pleasures of the flesh.” She met his eyes that seemed to dare her to continue, “I was made no differently from how you were made. But the biggest difference was that my father.” She hesitated, wondering if the entire truth was too early, before making the leap of faith, “My father was Zeus.”

He never broke eye contact, just stared at her, as if understanding her, before nodding in agreement. “Would explain how you can fly and toss men around like they’re nothing.”

He felt his insides tugging at him, and the familiar sense of déjà vu washing over his entire body like an ocean wave. It felt like he should remember having this conversation before. But he shook the sensation away. Her voice broke him away from his internal conflict.

“Well, it’s not really flying. More like a great jump and gliding.”

“Seems like flying to me.” He murmured to her and she smiled at him. The same smile that made him fall in love with her, but he wouldn’t say that just yet. But it was the intensity of the look of love and adoration on her face, something he had never felt from anyone before, as if he was the only thing that mattered.

The moment was quickly broken with the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Lieutenant!” Scott Evans half-heartedly yelled out, before noticing the company he was with. “And Missus Prince!” He smiled at the two of them. “You wouldn’t believe the good news. We’re going back to England for some R&R!” He stared at the two of them, waiting for a reaction, before realizing to himself, “Oh yeah. We leave for Utah beach at 1500.”

Steve just smiled and sighed in relief, “Thank you sergeant, you’re dismissed.” And with a salute, Evans went running back to the platoon.

“R and R?” Diana questioned, looking at him.

“Rest and recuperation. Means we’re going off the front lines and relaxing for a few days before coming back out.” Steve stood up and offered a hand to Diana. “I assume you’re coming with.”

Diana nodded, “Wherever you go. I go.” She stated as if it was the only logical answer in the whole world. She took his hand firmly and helped herself up. “You should meet Aletta’s sister and brothers, to tell them how their sister has fared. I know some people that could help you find them if you could give me their names.”

“Etta, Daniel, and John Candy.” He said, not noticing Diana’s eyebrows shoot up with shock.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the next few chapters already written out so I'll try to post it as soon as I can. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy the journey so far!


	14. 1944: Operation Overlord 2

_July 27, 1944_

_Utah Beach_

 

Diana sighed out loud, half in sadness and half in relief. The _R &R_ was cancelled, and they were instead resting at the coastal town of La Madeleine in Normandy.

It wasn’t like she didn’t want to share Steve, it was more about having to explain to Etta that this person, who looked, sounded, and acted like Steve, was and was not Steve. She also didn’t want to break the woman’s heart by telling her that Steve had no recollection of his “past” life.

She watched as Steve deftly navigate through the waves of men in front of him with two trays full of food delicately balanced on both hands. “Excuse me! Coming through!” He sighed in relief as he reached the table and set the trays down delicately before unceremoniously dropping to the seat opposite of Diana and sighed out again in exasperation.

“There are way too many people here. And I can’t believe I’m going to say this. But it’s worse than when I was on the troop ship.” He said as he began stuffing his mouth with a sandwich.

Diana eyed the sandwich in disgust before gingerly holding it in front of her nose and smelling it to see if it was edible. She crinkled her nose and just stared as Steve continued to take bite after bite.

“It’s not that bad. Though the baguette is a bit too hard for my liking.” He said with a mouthful of bread and a smile on his face.

She took a bite.

And promptly swallowed it as quickly as possible. This was not a meal to savor or be proud of.

Steve smiled at her with food still in his teeth, “Spam, lettuce, and army ketchup… What’s not to like? It’s a lot better than the food we normally eat.”

“Do you normally eat alone?” Diana said, having put down her sandwich and looked around as people were giving them quite a wide berth.

“Normally, no. I eat with my platoon over there.” He gestured towards the man she came to known as Evans. And as if on cue, he looked up to wave at the two of them. “Or, I eat with the other officers on the other end.” He turned his head to point in the general direction of what seemed to be the older men at a single table, the officers she assumed.

“But, I felt like you didn’t want to be bombarded by questions.” He looked around, seeing as a lot of soldiers were sneaking a glance at the pair, well, mainly at Diana, but it didn’t matter.

“Though, I didn’t expect that everyone would clear a space around you.” He chuckled softly, “I don’t know if it’s out of fear or respect.”

She smiled mischievously at him, “Maybe a bit of both.”

“Maybe a bit of both” he mirrored before taking another bite from his too tough sandwich.

“ATTENTION ON DECK!” An unfamiliar voice screamed out. And she watched in fascination as the kitchen that was so full of sound and energy quieted down instantaneously. She saw as everyone stood up in unison and turn to the voice. She ended up looking over herself.

An old man stepped out with a cane, an experienced warrior, the leader of the entire group it seemed. She stood herself, trying to blend in with the crowd.

“At ease men.” The old man surveyed the crowd, “I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished in the past few weeks of fighting. And you men have done more than what we could’ve asked for. Now, I know we promised that you would get rest after the initial invasion. But we have the enemy on their heels.”

He gestured to the entire room, “We can end the war by Christmas if we push the advantage.” He paused letting the information sink in. “Our next strike is in the region of Brittany. There lies a port that is vital for our success in Europe, for when we take it, the sea will be ours. For those that don’t understand the importance, without it, the U-boats that have been harassing our forces will no longer have a place to base themselves for long range assaults on the Atlantic. Without it, we have no place to put our vehicles or supplies and we get kicked out of Normandy from any large Nazi force.”

“So it is imperative that the Nazis also do not destroy these ports. So speed and surprise are of the essence.” He paused to search for a face, before settling on Diana’s. “Now, I know that we’ve run into a bit of luck recently. And I would like to hope that it extends to this mission as well. Furthermore, the 2nd rangers will lead the way and make contact with members of the French Resistance.”

He tapped his cane on the ground for emphasis, “These boys have been in the fight longer than we have. So they know the lay of the land better than most. So take heed of what they say... We move out in a few days. So rest and relax when you can.” He nodded to the men before walking out of the improvised mess hall.

Diana looked at the faces around, the sound and energy had barely picked back up with the absence of the old man, some had continued to eat in silence. Others just stared out into the ocean.

She turned to face Steve, who also had a melancholy look on his face. He smiled softly to Diana, “All the men here look up to you… You know, before you came to help us out. It wouldn’t be a surprise for us to lose 20 guys trying to take a village, or a port, or some stick in the ground. It was almost the norm that we expected to lose someone. Maybe it was a replacement that just got shipped out from boot two months ago, or maybe it was someone who’s been here for two years.” He looked at all the faces around him, “You never know when it’s your time. But ever since you got here, everything’s changed. We’ve barely lost anyone since we’ve landed.”

He swallowed deeply, “I would understand if you wanted to stay here awhile, away from the bloodshed and all. I wouldn’t want you to do something you didn’t want to do.”

She knew better than to hold his hand in public, something Etta had drilled into her for what constitutes a public and private moment. But now, more than ever, she wanted to reassure him, but in a place like this, all she could do was to hold his gaze and whisper, “Steve, I meant what I said to you earlier. I will go where you go. And nothing will stop me.” 

He nodded in quiet relief, a small part of him feeling selfish that he wanted her to be with him, glad that no matter where he went, she would follow. She had done the impossible, and maybe, he and his men could get out of this war unscathed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, the comments have been great, I get a kick reading your guys reaction. 
> 
> So again, all thoughts are appreciated! :)


	15. 1944: Battle for Brest 1

_August 7, 1944_

_Saint Eloy_

 

Steve had been having a lot of weird dreams recently, not nightmares nor unpleasant thoughts, but random peaceful moments that never existed but felt so real. He dreamed of having a mother who had cared for him deeply and a father who was a hero in his eyes. He dreamed of so many sisters and brothers that brought joy to his life.

But it was the dreams of Diana that shook him to his core. All of these dreams were too vivid and realistic for him to believe that they never happened, that they were just a figment of his imagination.

It was also weird because he could usually never remember his dreams, sure he could recall fragments of it, but ever since he had met Diana, he could remember with exact detail, every one of these “alternate” life dreams. 

He shook his head, trying to rid those thoughts. Even though Diana made any mission safer, it still wasn’t smart to not focus on the task at hand.

He looked down at his watch and gestured to Winters and the other officers, “Captain, the resistance members and Diana should have gotten here by now. Permission to lead a scout team ahead to see if there’s been any hiccups?”

Winters nodded his head, “Lipton, take first platoon and circle left. Nixon, take third and circle right. Welsh, you take the center with weapons and have Trevor’s platoon in reserve.”

Steve nodded and headed to his platoon, “Evans, Jacobs, and McCoy on me. Everyone else, follow Compton’s lead and stay with weapons platoon.”

Steve pushed ahead into the town, staying as quiet as possible in the dark night. They moved from building to building as quickly as possible, when Evans whispered out, “It’s a bit too quiet for my liking lieutenant.”

Steve nodded, “There’s been a curfew in effect since the Germans came into town. So the town should be asleep by now.”

McCoy quipped, “Guess that means no parade for us huh?”

“Shhh” Steve put his index finger over his lips and pointed at one of the sole houses that had light emanating from their closed windows. He moved up first to the building, with everyone in tow behind him. He could hear voices speak in a low murmur before putting his head closer to the window. He picked out a few voices, a few men and women and _Diana!_

He looked at his men and gestured for them to stack up against the wall before quietly knocking on the window. The voices stopped immediately. He waited a few more seconds before knocking again. This time, he heard footsteps approach him slowly. Then a male voice, “Y a quelqu’un?”

Steve looked around puzzled, “American?” His tone going higher at the end of word, hoping that Diana would’ve heard him.

“Americans!” he heard the voice exclaim, and then faster footsteps towards the door. Steve motioned for his men to lower their weapons before stepping up to the door. “Please, come inside!” The man said as he quietly opened the door and gestured for Steve and the rest of them to come in.

Steve took a step in, shielding his eyes from the light with his hand before dropping it and squinting around at the people inside, before finally resting his eyes on Diana and smiling. She however had a slight frown on her face.

“Come, come, sit, please!” said the man who had opened the door for them. “My name is Lucas. I ran the resistance at Carentan, but I’ve been moving west ever since you Americans secured it. I was just talking to Adrien about the ports you want to attack.”

Steve nodded, “You were supposed to be at the rally point east of the village by the fountain about,” he looked down at his watch, “15 minutes ago. Is there a problem?” 

“No, there isn’t.” Lucas said while staring at Diana.

Diana scoffed, “Yes, there is no problem. Since I will be helping them secure the ports.” She replied back firmly, more as a declaration than a statement.

“Not now, Diana.” Lucas looked at Steve, pleading with his eyes, “It’s too dangerous for her to go. And we need her elsewhere!”

“It’s her call.” Was all Steve could say, before looking at Diana. He spoke up again, “If it helps, I think she’s more capable than all of the people here in this room combined. She can take care of herself.” Evans, Jacobs, and McCoy nodded in agreement.

“Evans, take Jacobs and grab the Captain. We’ll have the briefing in here, I suppose.” Steve looked back at Lucas, “Time is of the essence, and you can bicker all you want with Diana. But I think her mind is set, and no offense to you, but I don’t think you can stop her.”

30 minutes later and they had a detailed map of all the fortifications, machine gun emplacements, troop barracks, patrol routes, artillery and mortar positions, as well as mine placements.

Winters saluted Lucas, “This could save more men then you could imagine.” 

Lucas spoke with pride in his voice, “It’s all due to the spies that we have in town. Diana” he pointed out, “was one of our best spies. If you don’t mind Captain. We could use her for other missions, rather than assaulting a port.”

Winters paused to look at the man and then to Diana, "She’s not officially a part of the unit.” And paused, “But she’s earned her place among my men. And if all of these markings are correct, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

Winters walked to Diana, “Your decision. But I’d be more comfortable if you were out there in the field with us.” He looked back at Lucas, “I would tell your spies still in the ports to get to safe positions. We’ll be attacking at dawn.”

Winters left with all of the officers and Steve in tow. Steve paused at the doorway briefly to look at Diana before nodding to her and closing the door behind him as they left.

Diana turned to Lucas, “I will take my leave as well.”

He reached out to grab her wrist, “Please, Diana. Don’t.” She looked into his eyes and narrowed her brow.

He spoke out again, “I’ve heard from Isabel and various accounts that you seem like an unstoppable force. And I don’t doubt that. I don’t doubt that you could beat your way through a fight. But, I don’t want you to throw your life around so carelessly. Where they’re going, it’s a dangerous place. It’s more heavily defended than the beaches. And you saw what happened there!”

“Then you know that I can stop the same tragedy from occurring!” She retorted before pulling her wrist away from his grasp.

“Diana, I know you don’t owe me anything. In fact, I probably owe you far more than you’ll ever know. But please, do not go. I will do anything you ask.” He almost got on his knees, but stood instead. He looked around to see if everyone had left, before staring into her eyes. “I love you. We’ve worked together for four years. Fighting side by side, through thick and thin. I was sick with worry when you disappeared, and now that you’re back, I can’t imagine you gone. Please don’t abandon me now.”

Diana tenderly cupped his face with one hand, “My heart belongs to someone else. Any women would be lucky to have your affection and love. I would assume you followed the reports and sightings of me, and I’m flattered that you would go so far. But this is where our paths separate.”

He closed his eyes, memorizing the feel of her touch and the scent of her body, before turning away in defeat. “When this is all over, I hope I can change your mind about me.”

Diana didn’t answer as she saw him walk away into the other room. She turned herself to the door, a slight pang in her chest at having rejected the man. In another life, maybe she would’ve loved him. He was a gentle and caring man, a bit overbearing, but his love and affections were sincere. 

She took a step outside and looked to her right. Steve was standing by the doorway with a pensive look on his face.

“Sorry for eavesdropping. The man looked like he wanted to say something important and the curious side of me couldn’t help but listen.” He said as he gestured for her to walk by his side.

It was a silent walk, she noticed. He looked like he wanted to say something, but kept silent. And she was slightly annoyed that he felt the need to listen in on an intimate moment. But she understood the thirst of curiosity, and that the need to spy was probably hidden deep in his blood. They had reached the fountain before he finally spoke up.

“I’m glad you decided to come. After all of that. If it were me, I don’t know if I would leave to fight if someone was telling me how dangerous this place is going to be.”

She looked at Steve, in the dark and windy night, the ocean breeze whipping around her. Reminiscent of the night she had lost him, but instead of the roar of an engine that violently pushed the winds, it was the far ocean breeze causing the wind to whip around her. “No, I think you would’ve left no matter how dangerous it was.”

“Really?” He smirked at her. “Well, I suppose so, since we are heading there now.”

“No, Steve. I really mean it, from the bottom of my heart. I know what kind of man you are. You wouldn’t hesitate to throw yourself into danger if it meant saving lives.” She took his hand. “It’s what scares me the most. Knowing that you would put yourself so easily into harm’s way.”

He scoffed back, “Then you would be dead from a heart attack in my shoes then. Because you leap for action at the sound of danger. Almost think you have a death wish or something.”

She let go of his hand, “It will take more than man’s weapon to take me down.”

He nodded in agreement, “Listen, Diana. I wasn’t planning on giving you this. Hell, it’s usually a bad omen to even have one of these in the first place.” He rambled on before taking out an envelope from his jacket, “But if something were to happen to me. Could you mail or bring this letter to Aletta?” He took her hands softly and wrapped her fingers around the note, “It would mean a lot for me if you could do that.”

She looked down at the note before pulling it closer to her body, “I will return this to you after the battle. And you will give it to her yourself after this war is over.”

He just smiled at her, believing full heartedly in her words and her promise.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve be spying in on conversations. He probably wouldn't have been caught if he just left a little bit later. Or maybe he was just being a gentleman and waiting at the door for Diana. 
> 
> Anyways, a little tidbit, the upcoming battle in Brittany was called the "Battle for Brest" 
> 
> Mainly a US attack with UK support that had the 2nd, 8th, and 29th US Infantry Divisions (totaling around 45,000 soldiers) and then we had the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions totaling around 1,000 Rangers. For support they had the 79th Armored Division (UK) which was around 300 or so tanks.
> 
> To tell you how important this port was, it could support 2,000 tons of supplies and vehicles a day. And could also be used to ferry supplies directly from the US to France, instead of having to go to England and than France. It was also important to have because around the same time, Patton and the 3rd army were moving in on Paris. And with the rapid advance of Patton, they were soon running short on supplies. Thankfully the Allies were able to take the port at Brest.


	16. 1944: Battle for Brest 2

_September 19, 1944_

_Brest, France_

 

She had disappeared as soon as the fighting had started. Leaping for the pier and the edge of the docks, in hopes of stopping any German forces from blowing it up.

So along the way he went, with the 2nd Rangers leading the assault. 3 infantry divisions and 2 ranger battalions totaling 45,000 infantrymen and 1,000 rangers to take the port at Brest. Defended by some 40,000 German soldiers.

It had taken them three days to capture a nearby town and it would be a month before they had finally beaten the last of the German forces in the city.

Without the map of the area that had marked all of the enemy location and supplies, the battle would’ve been a lot worse for both sides. As it stood, the 2nd Ranger battalion only suffered 25 dead and 130 or so wounded. Overall, casualties were heavy, with over 10,000 wounded or dead on just the US side. Though it could’ve been a lot more had it not been for Diana and the help of the resistance.

So what should’ve been cause for celebration after hearing about the German general surrendering his forces, was met with instead muted happiness.

Steve looked at his ankle, he had taken a small piece of a ricochet that pierced the flesh but didn’t touch bone or exit the body. 

It was his first real injury in the war. He chuckled to himself, after everything he’s been through and it was a stray round that wasn’t even aimed at him. _I guess if I had to be hit, getting a ricochet was the best case scenario._

He looked down at McCoy who was finishing up the bandage on his foot before he heard him grunt out. “You should probably get some crutches. Even though it wasn’t a direct hit, you should stay off of your left foot.”

“Probably isn’t possible Bones.”

Steve took a look around at the church, turned makeshift hospital. “But who knows, if the rumors are correct, we could be heading to Paris for some relaxation.”

McCoy spoke up, “So how’s your lady friend doing?”

Steve looked up at the ceiling, “Reports put her somewhere with the 8th infantry division. But I haven’t seen her since the battle started a month ago.” 

“Well, I’m glad she didn’t get to see you wounded. She probably would’ve murdered anyone in a German uniform that was within a 10 mile radius around you.” McCoy stood up, brushing off his pant legs. “She’s awfully defensive around you.”

“Yeah, she gets like that. But hey, having a goddess protect you is a good thing to have in a war like this.” Steve said as he hobbled to his feet.

“Watch it now, if you reinjure yourself now, don’t go blaming me for it. If she thinks I’m the one who screwed up patching you up, she may turn on me.” He said more seriously than jokingly.

“Don’t worry Bones. It’ll be-“ _fine by the time she gets here anyway_. Was what he wanted to say, but he stopped in the middle of his sentence seeing the armor clad women at the entrance of the church, eyes wide with fear. “Shit.”

McCoy turned his head and spotted her instantly. “You’re on your own pal.” He whispered under his breath before half-jogging and half-running away from Steve.

Half of Steve had wanted to hide for some odd reason, the other half wanted to wave his arms and yell to gain her attention. He settled for just standing there, eyes wide in disbelief. It had only taken her a few seconds after McCoy had left for her to find him anyways. “STEVE!”

He should’ve hidden.

* * *

 

_August 7, 1944_

Diana hadn’t meant to separate herself from Steve, but she had remembered what the old man had said. It was vital that the ports not be destroyed or sabotaged. So she went off on her own to stop them, believing that she would return to his side as soon as she was done.

Or so she thought. She had finished securing most of the dock and the surrounding pier and was planning on making her way back. But the nearby screams of children had pushed her to action. Then from there, she saw young men being shot at from a nearby tower. So she rushed to their aide.

It continued on and on, needing to help those who were in danger. And before she knew it, she was in a completely different area. The patches on the uniforms of the men she was with, were completely different to Steve’s patch, so she pointed at one of the young men, “You. What’s your unit?”

“29th infantry ma’am.” He said as he ducked behind cover.

“Where are the 2nd Rangers?” She said as she threw her shield at the machine gun turret before staring back at the man.

“A couple of miles north of us, I would think. We’re to secure the roads between Brest and Lorient.” He looked around before continuing. “If it wouldn’t be too troublesome for you. There's a watch tower that’s overlooking the road east of us. We’re moving to secure it and we could use all the help we can get. And with your abilities, it should only take a few seconds.”

She only nodded before running to grab her shield and then dashing east towards the tower. It just so happened that each time she had tried to make her way back to Steve, there would be something that would drag her away that needed her attention.

* * *

 

_September 19, 1944_

It had been a month now, and she had jumped from unit to unit, before personally fighting beside the 8th infantry for the final push against the last stronghold of the remaining German forces.

She was there when General Canham had accepted General Ramcke’s surrender. And had smiled along with the rest of his men when the German commander arrogantly asked to surrender to a man with “high credentials” with Canham replying, “These are my credentials” as he waved to the soldiers behind him.

Shortly after the surrender was being broadcasted to all US forces, Canham personally pulled Diana aside, “I can’t help but thank you for what you’ve done for me and my men. I almost didn’t believe the rumors myself. It sounded too ridiculous to be true. But, I’ve never been so glad to be wrong.” He extended his hand to Diana, “You have the gratitude of my men and myself. Say what you need, and I’ll wrangle it up for you… It’s the least I can do.”

“Where are the 2nd Rangers?” She blurted out instantly while shaking his hand. General Canham raised his eyebrows before laughing.

“That was fast. Well, I can’t bring them to you. But they’re about 10 miles west of us, near the town of Le Cosquer… It’s on the coast, if you’d like I can bring up a jeep and they can get you there in 30 or so minutes.”

“No need General, I’ll get there faster myself.” She said as she dashed out of his sight. He just chuckled and shook his head, the rumors were more truth than fiction at this point. _The avenging angel of the 2 nd._

She had just landed at the coastal town of Le Cosquer and had begun walking around trying to find a familiar face, when she heard a familiar Scottish voice yell out at her, “Here lassie!”

“Scotty?” She questioned before looking around, “Where’s Steve?”

“Oh, he’s in the hospital. He just got a bit roughed-“ he saw her move immediately towards the wrong direction, “he’s in the church to your left!” 

And off she went, “Women.” He sighed before returning to his mates.

Fear and desperation gnawed in her gut as she raced through the front door of the church. The smell and sounds of the dead and dying hit her like a hammer to the chest. She looked around wildly, before her eyes caught a quick movement to her left. She focused on it immediately and saw Steve just staring at her, looking whole and complete. Relief flooded through her veins, “STEVE!” She shouted in both joy and fear. Before barreling her way towards him and wrapping him in a tight hug.

“Nice to see you to Diana.” He wheezed out and she quickly let go of him to inspect him for injuries.

“You’re hurt. Where?” She demanded. She looked as he pointed down and sighed in relief. “Is it permanent?”

“Nah. I’ll just be limping around for a few days, and then I’ll be fine.” He shrugged nonchalantly and continued, “I mean they’re giving me a purple heart for being hit. But if you want to be technical about it, I was hit by a ricochet and not a direct hit. A direct hit could’ve possibly made me permanently hobbled though.” He gestured for Diana to come closer.

Putting one arm around her shoulder, he simply stated, “I need to get out of here though. So help me to the exit.”

She wanted to argue with him about the merits of resting yourself to recover, but the makeshift hospital seemed to be a terrible place for doing that. So she nodded her head and helped him out, looking at all of the poor men laying around injured or dying. She said a quick prayer to the Gods that they be treated well and walked out of the church with Steve leaning heavily against her.

He cleared his throat, “So, what have you been up to?”

“A story for another time. I saw a few inns nearby, maybe they’ll have a place for you to stay.” She said as she searched around for a comfortable place for him to lie down.

“Well most of the inns and houses are being occupied by troops, so there probably isn’t really a good place to rest.” He paused remembering the good news suddenly, “You told me that you stayed in Paris for a while before the war.  Well, apparently the French army and the US 4th infantry division recaptured Paris. Happened about a week and a half ago. Apparently the city is being used as a rest point for allied troops.” He motioned for her to stop walking. 

“And guess who has a ticket to go there for a week.” He paused for dramatic effect before pointing at his chest as he smiled at her.

“Are you asking me out on a weeklong date?” She replied in a sultry voice.

He nervously gulped, “Well. I’ll need a guide around the city, and why not a person who’s lived there for many years?” He said trying to dodge the question.

A look of disappointment flashed across her face before she pouted at him, “So you only want to use me as a guide.”

“No, not like that. Never, I mean.” He breathed heavily through his nose, “Yes, Diana, I’d like to spend the week with you in Paris… if you’ll have me.”

Her pout quickly turned into a wide smile, “Good. Because I can’t think of anything better to do than to explore Paris with you.” She said sweetly before tightening her grip on his waist. “Now, let’s get you to a place where you can lay down.”

“Let’s.” He said as he nodded in agreement.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got over 100 Kudos, and that actually had me pretty pumped. Thanks again for reading and enjoying my story! 
> 
> On a final note, this ends Operation Overlord (June 6 - August 30). With most of France back in Allied hands, it was now time to move east and into Germany. 
> 
> At the end of the 3 months of fighting, the Allies had thrown in over 2 million soldiers to fight in Europe. Losing around 226,000 men, 4,100 aircraft, and 4,000 tanks.
> 
> The Axis Forces (mainly Germany) had committed a little over 1 million soldiers to fight back. And they would end up losing nearly 530,000 men (including captured forces) and over 2,100 aircraft and 2,400 tanks/artillery guns. 
> 
> The next coming operations would determine if the war would be ended sooner or later.


	17. 1944: Paris

_September 24, 1944_

_Paris, France_

 

The trip to the newly liberated Paris was exciting for Steve. It would be the first time he would actually get to visit another country without having to follow a schedule, being told where to go, and most importantly, not getting shot at. He could be a proper tourist. _They did say before the war, join the army and explore the world._ Though he never expected to travel the world with a beautiful lady at his side.

He looked over at the sleeping figure next to him. He remembered just a few days ago on the first leg of the trip that he thought it would have been a lot harder trying to get a civilian onto military transports, but one glance at the lady in armor and a soldier with the 2nd Rangers tab, and she was granted access immediately, no questions asked. The rest of the trip seemed uneventful except for the constant staring.

He imagined that this would be the closest he’d ever be to a celebrity. Seeing as how almost everyone they had come across had looked at her with awe. But it did have perks to always being noticed, a war photographer had snapped some amazing shots of Diana.

It took a custom SS Luger that he got off a dead German officer to bribe him for those photos. But he had them now, all 5 of them. He didn’t necessarily know what to do with them, so he kept his favorite one taped to the underside of his helmet, the smaller ones in his wallet, and the larger ones in his rucksack. She didn’t need to know about them, yet. It’d be pretty weird to say that he bought, well traded, for photos of her.

He saw her slowing stirring awake and couldn’t help but stare as she began to stretch out the tiredness from her body. Her voice bringing him back to the present, “Are we there yet?”

“Almost there now, about 15 more minutes until we reach the stations on the outskirts of Paris. And we can stop off there, or we can continue riding the train into the heart of the city. I’ve got no plans except to see the Eiffel Tower.” He looked on as she fiddled around her small pack before grabbing a watch and strapping it to her wrist.

“That’s an antique you have.” He said pointing to his own watch.

She smiled at him before rubbing the face of the watch, “It was a gift from someone dear to me a long time ago.”

He nodded in acceptance, “You might want to get a new band for it. The leather looks pretty beat up.”

She was torn for a second as she stared at the watch. She had tried to keep it in the best shape possible by not wearing it as often, and definitely not when she was in battle. But he was right, the leather was cracking all over, and some parts looked like it would soon tear. But, what was the memory of a man and his watch compared to the real living and breathing thing in front of her. She nodded solemnly, “Then you must pick one out.”

He sputtered, “Sure. I mean, I’m not an expert by any means, so I don’t know what to look for. But if that’s what you want.”

She laughed merrily, “I trust you Steve.”

“Well if you say so.” He said shaking his head.

They rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence. Diana lost in thought as she stared at her watch, and Steve zoning out in relaxation. The time flew quickly by as the train slowly screeched to a stop. He heard from the attendant say that they had arrived at _Pont du Garigliano_.  

He looked at Diana who had now begun gathering up her belongings and grabbed his rucksack.

“So where to next?” He said stepping out of the train and into the busy station.

“We can grab some food from a nearby tavern or café.” She said grabbing his hand and leading him towards the exit.

He followed her lead before stopping and letting go of her hand, “Oh! Wait.” He said pulling out his wallet, she paused to turn back at him. Before noticing that he had walked up to an ice cream stand and had ordered 2 ice cream cones.

A warm feeling invaded her stomach as she saw him smile at the stand holding the two cones. He made his way over, offering one of the cones to her, “For your sweet tooth.” He beamed.

After they had left the station, they walked at a leisurely pace, Steve taking in the city, and Diana wondering if this was what peace would’ve felt like had the previous Steve not died in the sky all those years back.

One thought led to another before Diana suddenly gasped out loud. Steve stopped in his track and looked at her worriedly, “You okay?” He went to feel her forehead with the back of his hand, before she nodded and grimaced to herself.

“One of my old friends back in London. She hasn’t heard from me since I found you.” She blushed, “I mean, since we’ve met.”

He furrowed his brow, “That was like 3 months ago.” He paused “Ohhhh well, let’s get you to a telephone booth.” She only nodded in agreement.

It had only taken them a few minutes before they stumbled upon an empty booth, she turned to him and said, “It’ll only be a few minutes… Hopefully.”

“Take your time. I’ve got plenty of it.” He smiled as she rushed off to the booth to phone her mysterious friend.

In the meantime, he just took in the sights around him, it was weird being in a city that had been around since the Romans. Granted there was a lot of change since 30 BC, but the wonder wasn’t lost upon him. He took the sight in before turning to stare at Diana, who looked like she was sheepishly nodding her head in agreement to whoever was on the other line.

It was probably the first time he saw her look sheepish and dare he say, a little frightened. That was definitely the first time he saw her scared of anything. Whoever she was talking to must be pretty frightening he concluded to himself. Thank god he wouldn’t have to deal with something like that.

He saw Diana return his stare and mouth something that looked like _this will be awhile_. So he gave her a thumbs up before walking off to explore the city.

* * *

 

She stared expectantly at the phone, half hoping that Etta wouldn’t pick up, and the other half hoping she would because it had been a long time since they had talked. They had kept up with each other at least once or twice every week, but never longer than a week.

She heard the line pick up, “Etta speaking. Who is this?”

“It’s Diana.” Was all she could get out before Etta launched into her with a small tirade. Diana physically slinked back from the phone as Etta continued on about how worried she was. And how she had gathered up Samir, Charlie, and Chief together and that they were _this close_ to going out as a search and rescue team to find Diana.

“I’m sorry Etta. And tell the boys that I’m sorry for making them worry as well. But I’m fine, and they don’t need to come over to fight. They’ve earned their rest.” She paused as she heard Etta rattle on about how much she had sacrificed and done enough as well, and debated whether or not she should tell them about Steve.

She almost hadn’t, but then Etta voiced out that _Steve wouldn’t have wanted you to be by yourself._

“Etta.” She said interrupting her in the middle of her speech.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, “Do you believe in reincarnation?”

She heard a sigh of exasperation, “No, and what a silly question to ask. Are you alright?”

Diana pursued again, “ _He’s here._ ” She tried to emphasize, before repeating herself, “Steve’s here.”

“That’s crazy, are you sure it wasn’t a hallucination of some sort? I know a therapist that does grief counse-“ Diana interrupted her.

“I’ve been with him for the past 3 months. It’s part of the reason why I didn’t call.” There was a long silence then. “Etta?” Silence again. “Etta? Are you there?”

“Of course I’m here.” Etta replied indignantly, “I just can’t believe you right now. I mean, I need to see him for myself.” She paused searching for the right words. “And if it is him, I’ll need to give him a taste of his own medicine for leaving us out in the dark.”

Diana spoke up again, “Etta, he’s not himself.” She heard a sigh of annoyance.

“Well of course he’s not himself, the Steve I know would’ve been more thoughtful than to run and hide.” Etta sniffed loudly.

“No, I mean, he’s not the Steve that we knew. That Steve,” Diana felt her heart crumble slightly, “still died that night in Belgium. This Steve, looks exactly like him, talks like him, even acts like him! But, he has no memories of a past life.” She paused searching for the right words, “Whatever happened, he was given a second chance at life Etta.”

“And he’s foolishly joined the war again.” Etta tutted, “That boy is going to get himself killed… again.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Diana whispered lightly. Grief gripping her heart as she vividly remembered the night he had gone up to the stars.

Etta continued with a lighter tone “Well, if there’s anyone who could get him out of harm’s way. It’s you. Lord knows what that boy will do next.” She paused for a moment, “So, when will the boys and I get to see him again?”

“Soon, hopefully. We’re in Paris right now, but he was only given a week’s leave, and it’s already taken us 4 days to arrive here, so we probably can’t make our way down.” Diana looked out to see Steve staring at her and mouthed, _this is almost done._ He gave her a thumbs up, and started to walk off. _STEVE!_ she screamed in her head.

“Etta, I have to go now. But before I leave, apparently he was staying with your younger sister in Los Angeles. You should give her a call, and I’m sure she’ll be able to answer any more questions you have.” Diana heard Etta gasp as if realizing something for the first time before she heard her mumble out a goodbye.

Diana hung the phone up, and walked outside the booth, looking for where Steve may have wandered off too. Thankfully she didn’t have to look far, as she stumbled upon him looking at an old watch shop.

“Steve!” She breathed out in relief.

Steve turned around and smiled, “Diana! I think this shop is perfect to get your band replaced.”

Diana’s frustration melted away at his happiness, and she smiled back, “Well then, let’s take a look shall we?”

It honestly didn’t matter which band he had chosen, she would’ve even worn the ugliest looking one, it really only mattered that he would be the one to replace it. He settled on a purple leather band, and it made her happy inside to see how much he cared to see if she liked it (which she did).

They walked out of the shop, happy with her purchase, and her heart feeling lighter.

The rest of the day moved by in a blur, and she hadn’t felt so relaxed in such a long time. As the sun began to set, they had found a small hostel that had two rooms still available. He, being the gentleman like long before, walked her to her room before giving her a light kiss on the cheek before walking off, leaving her to memorize the touch of his lips on her skin. She had half a mind to drag him into her room, but decided against it.

So she retired to her room, excited for the next day.

* * *

 

_Later that night_

It had seemed she was too excited to spend another day relaxing with Steve. She felt around the bedside table for her watch before looking at the time. It was late enough, and she really shouldn’t bother him.

But, sleep was important, and maybe she could sleep better in his presence. It was worth a shot, she reasoned, since she obviously was not going to get any sleep by herself tonight. So she tiptoed across the hallway, past the other sleeping tenants before arriving at Steve’s door.

She thought she had opened the door discreetly, but the moment she had closed the door behind her and turned around, he was sitting up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“You ok?” Steve said wearily. He moved to get up, but Diana had crossed the room and put a hand on his naked shoulder to stop him from getting up completely.

“I’m fine, just couldn’t sleep. I felt like I would sleep better here.” She said as she sat down and used her hip to give him a slight shove.

“Diana, I’m” he cleared his throat “improper right now.”

She just shrugged and laid down beside him. Wrapping the sheets around her and feeling the warmth radiating off of his body upon her back. She purposefully snuggled closer to him until they touched and felt his body immediately stiffen at the contact, and smiled to herself.

Steve looked at her back before sighing to himself. _She couldn’t sleep? Well I can’t sleep now either_.

He remembered hearing a joke that both brains couldn’t work at once, but that was obviously wrong, seeing as how he had thousands of scenarios playing out in his head at once while he was as hard as a rock.

Every movement she made created both comfort and discomfort, something that was ridiculous for him to believe could ever happen. But he was living proof of that conundrum. So he just laid there, thinking of all of the _improper_ things he wanted to do before slowing drifting unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was out in Death Valley over the weekend, but now I'm back and had this chapter ready to go!
> 
> Hope you enjoy! And I'll respond to comments when I'm awake enough :)
> 
> Also I might edit it again for coherency sake, just was too tired to right now.


	18. 1944: Paris-Belgium

_September 25, 1944_

_Paris, France_

 

One night was all they had before they had to leave the peace and tranquility of Paris.

The day seemed innocuous enough, Steve had mentioned to Diana that he had to make his daily call back to headquarters in case his leave was suddenly canceled and he was called back. But he seemed sure that it wouldn’t be cancelled. As the US and British forces were in the middle of another massive assault, something called Operation Market Garden that was supposed to take place in the Netherlands.

But he seemed reassured enough that their mini-vacation would continue. So Diana laid in his bed, waiting for him to return. It had only took him a few minutes before he was back with a frown on his face.

“What is it?” Diana’s gave Steve a concerned look before sitting up.

“Apparently that massive operation was a gigantic failure. Tens of thousands of men apparently dead and many more wounded or missing.  They’re mustering all available forces to head into Belgium in case the Germans counterattack. So we’re to take the first train to some city in Belgium called Arlon.” He went to grab his rucksack, before apologizing, “Didn’t think we’d only have a day to relax.”

Diana gently kissed his cheek, “It’s alright Steve. We’ll have more days ahead of us.”

He nodded before pouting, “Didn’t even get to see the Eiffel Tower.”

“We can take a detour, we’ll still be days ahead of everyone else since we’re in Paris.” Diana said at the door before slipping out to her own room.

She was right of course, they had decided to tour around the city and stop at the Eiffel Tower before heading to Belgium.

* * *

 

_October 1, 1944_

_Arlon,_ _Belgium_

 

They arrived two days ahead of when the rest of the company would be arriving, so they had taken the time to explore the city. But relaxing was the last thing on their minds as they both saw the chaos around them as the US Army hastily assembled as many people and supplies in the city. He walked to a nearby supply depot to grab some gear. 

It didn't take him long to quickly change from his dress uniform to a simple pair of OD Greens, grab a rifle, some supplies, and a lot of ammo. Walking out of the depot he spotted Diana already changed into her familiar battle armor and attracting the looks of nearby soldiers. “You cold?” Steve asked as he shivered slightly at the wind.

“I’ll need a coat. But I’ll be fine for now.” She sized him up, “You’ll need one too.”

“Nah, I’m sure the Army will pass something along.” He looked up into the afternoon sky, “It is almost winter.”

She nodded, “We should find a place to rest. The city will be full soon.” She said noticing the waves of soldiers and vehicles disembarking in the city. 

Steve looked around and nodded in agreement, "Find us a place, I have to go check in with HQ and get a better picture of what's going on. We can meet at the small cafe by the train station at around 6PM?"

She had agreed and he went on his way, disappearing into the city filled with movement. But she was left with little more to do than to walk around and reminisce about the last time she was in Belgium, nearly 26 years ago. She had good memories of the country and mainly one bad memory that almost entirely overwrote the experience she had in this lovely country. But, _too new memories_ she said to herself.

Diana was determined to have a few last moments of peace with Steve. But, it was at dinner in the small cafe when she was quickly reminded of the past.

Steve looked out of the small café and smiled, “You know, these next two days, I’m going to try to eat as much as I can from the locals. Because once the company get here, it’s only Army rations from here on out.”

“Where are they now?” She asked as she watched in amazement at how much food he could eat.

“They stopped at the outskirts of some small town named Veld. Then, they'll be taking trucks to Bruges and finally a train all the way down to here.” He swallowed down the rest of his meal before continuing, “Funnily enough the CO of my company, Captain Winters, got promoted to Battalion XO, so he’s second in charge now of the whole battalion. And he asked that I lead the company now, and apparently it was approved, along with a promotion.”

He puffed out his chest in a joking fashion, “So, I guess I am now Captain Steven Trevor.” He chuckled at the thought before replying softly, “I told him that Nixon, Welsh, or Lipton would’ve been a better choice. But he said that I was the one who had the most experience since I’ve been in this since ’42, and was the only one to fight in more than one campaign… Which I guess is true. But I don’t think that necessarily makes me a better leader, just luckier than the rest.”

Diana rested her hand on top of his, “I’m sure you’ll do fine. Call it a hunch.” Ignoring the sudden feeling of dread in her stomach at how things were coming together, seemingly too coincidental to a time long ago.

She had to mentally tell herself to stop thinking so negatively. This would be too cruel of fate for things to repeat itself again, especially with November just a month away. If she was honest with herself, she knew that she had felt much closer to Steve than she previously had before, losing him again, well, she didn’t know what she would do. She couldn’t think of it, wouldn’t accept it.

* * *

 

Steve noticed the look of conflict on her face, at first he felt a tad insulted that she would say one thing and react another way. But, if it was one thing he loved about Diana, it was that she was quite metaphorically, an open book. And he didn’t blame her for reacting that way. Deep down, he felt quite unprepared for the new task in front of him.

He left money on the table before pulling her up from the chair. “Let’s get back to the room. Maybe the warmth will cheer you up.” She dimly smiled at him as she got up and allowed herself to be led by Steve.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this suddenly exploded with comments last chapter, I've been pretty tired (thank god for writing these things in advance) but I swear I'll get to your comments in time. 
> 
> It's meant a lot to me that you guys like this story. So hope you enjoy it so far!


	19. 1944: Battle for Hurtgen Forest 1

_November 25, 1944_ _  
_ _Hurtgen Forest_

 

This was a snow that Diana didn’t enjoy. It was freezing, and there was no place to gain any warmth. Fires were forbidden at night as the light would signal to the opposing German forces where there might be people. They learned that quickly when they lost 5 men the first night they had taken up positions in the forest.

So the only way to keep warm was to burrow underneath the ground, and to insulate the top of the foxholes as best as possible.

The fur coat she was using as a blanket seemed ineffective against the chill. But at least it gave her a convenient excuse to lay with Steve. And though he seemed uncomfortable with the idea at first, he quickly jumped on board as night fell and temperatures dropped to a freezing level.

Steve’s teeth chattered relentlessly as he wrapped himself against Diana’s back, “These coats are barely thick enough for this winter.”

She turned to face Steve grinning mischievously, “You know you can use my coat as a blanket. In fact, I think we’d be warmer if we used both of our coats as a blanket.”

Steve’s face turned bright red as he cleared his throat, “Well, if you say so.” He responded lamely as his mind really couldn’t think with how cold it was.

Diana counted that as a minor victory as he settled in with her, both of their bodies warming each other quickly. “See? Much better.” She sighed contently.

She mused out loud, “It’s funny that the first time I saw the snow it was in this country and in the arms of a man that I loved.” She paused to gather her Amazonian courage, “It’s funny how history has a way of repeating itself.”

Steve just mumbled in agreement with a small _mhmm._

Her heart raced in the same way it had in that small room in Veld when he had closed the door behind him. She turned her head to see his face, only to see him sleeping soundly with a slight smile on his face. She turned her face back to the dirt wall, annoyed but resolved to announce her love to him once again.

The day came soon enough, with Steve waking up first, and gently moving so that he wouldn’t disturb Diana. It was surprising to see the higher-ups not really care about whether or not an officer was having a relationship with a civilian (though a free military contractor would’ve been a more apt description). And it was strictly against the rules for any soldier, officer or not, to be with a civilian.

It wasn’t really noticeable at first, in Normandy and at Brittany, she had stayed with the resistance or wandered off on her own. Then there was the one month that she was away fighting with other units. And by then, when he was given his leave of absence to Paris, his superiors may have clued in that she was specifically following him. But it was now without a doubt that she was _with_ him, as she had been beside him and rested in his foxhole with him since the unit arrived in Belgium.  

Though after all the help that Diana had been to the war effort, he didn’t think they wanted to go through the war without her on their side.

He gently removed the tarp covering his hole and got out to stretch his body and check up on his company. He had almost as many new recruits as he had veteran rangers, including one new lieutenant fresh out of West Point, but at least he had experienced NCOs, those that had been through the ringer in Omaha and fought like hell through Normandy and then Brittany.

He had moved quickly through the lines to battalion headquarters to see Major Winters talking to the Colonel Rudder in front of a map resting on a table. Before he could do anything, Winters had motioned him to come in.

Winters nodded at Steve before beginning, “We’ll be beginning the brief in a few minutes, so grab a chair.”

Steve nodded as he sat at the corner of the table. A few minutes later and most of the Captains had been assembled.

Rudder cleared his throat, “Well men, today is the day we get our orders. Now, I know a lot of you have replacements in your units and some of you even have officers that are replacements. But the time to dawdle around and do nothing is over… Now, we expected the Germans to hit us after the massive failure of operation Market Garden. But that was a few months ago” He paused to chuckle, “and those sunuvabitches did nothing when we had our pants down. So, now that we’ve got our pants buckled back up, it’s time to bring the fight back to them, if they aren’t bringing it to us.”

He pointed at a small point in the map, “Hill 400.” Rudder continued, “is where we beat back the German forces. On December 7th, I want Dog and Fox companies to recon the hill at 0300 hours and see what the best way to assault it is. At 0730, I want Dog and Fox to make their assault, and at the same time I want Able, Baker, Charlie, and Easy to assault Bergstein and secure the city for reinforcements.” He nodded to the men, “Get it done.”

“Yes sir!” They all said in unison as Rudder left the command tent.

Winters stepped up to the map and spoke, “Steve and Otto, come here. The rest of you stay put, I want to go over the plan of attack on the city with you guys afterwards.” He walked towards a smaller and more detailed map and pointed along the ridgeline.

“This is what we’ve got, a fortified line with bunkers and MG positions making it pretty much like a fortress, and you’ve got mortars and artillery pieces behind them. If that isn’t enough, the condition report is against you to, we’ve got reports that the sides of the hill are full of ice.” Winters grimaced and dropped his head to sigh. “We’ll hammer those positions with our own artillery and mortars at 0715, and you’ll have 15 minutes of fire support. After that, you’ll be by yourself. Wish we could give you more, but the near proximity of the shots as well as the surrounding trees makes it more likely we’ll shell our own guys rather than the enemy.”

“We believe they’re holding their artillery pieces here,” he pointed at some positions along the hill, “Here and here. Your main objective is to destroy the artillery pieces and secure the hill.”

Winters looked Steve in the eye, “We’ll need all the help we can get. 4 divisions have already tried to take the hill, and they all failed. It’s why we’re assaulting the surrounding town with the rest of the battalion, to create a diversion for you guys. And with some luck. You’ll be able to take the hill.”

Winters nodded to Steve and Otto, “Prepare your men. I have faith. Godspeed.”

Steve slowly made his way back to his hole, where he saw Diana awake and alert, before seeing her visibly relax at the sight of him. She smiled, “Where were you?”

“Got our orders. And it isn’t a pretty task.” He grimaced as she slid down to the hole with her and faced out into the forest.

“We’re going on a sneak attack that could turn into a suicide run if the Germans aren’t distracted.” He stated numbly before turning to look at her, “I’ll need your help on this one.”

“Anything.” Diana said as she went to grab his hand. “We’ll make it through this. I can promise you that.”

Steve just nodded and smiled slightly as he looked at the forest ahead of him, taking in the sights and sounds around him, as if seeing it clearly for the first time. Sure he had been on deadly missions before, been put in dangerous odds before, but going where many more had went and failed, it just didn’t seem possible to take what 10,000 men couldn’t take with only 200 men.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was going to post this in a previous chapter about Market Garden, but forgot, so it's here now.
> 
> Operation Market Garden was a massive failure. While Operation Overlord was one of the largest invasions in the history of warfare.
> 
> Operation Market Garden was the largest airborne operation. 
> 
> The idea was to drop 4 divisions of airborne infantry (40,000+ men) behind enemy lines and have a ground assault force meet the airborne infantry within 4 days. The XXX (30th) Corps consisted of nearly 50,000 men and a few thousand tanks.
> 
> The problem became was that the leader of the ground forces (Montgomery) took a longer route and was also stopped many times along the way (because of the natural terrain). Leaving the airborne infantry divisions cut off for much longer than expected. He also paused in a city to build it as a supply point (being confident that they would be successful in the operation) for future forces. Further delaying his advance. 
> 
> Then the final blow was that the resistance for the ground forces was much more fierce than expected. And would also end up actually forcing the ground forces to stop their advance, thus leaving the airborne divisions fully cut off. Even though they had done their job and secured the towns and bridges critical to the advance. 
> 
> That 1 week of fighting cost 17,200 casualties and 88 tanks. With more than 15,000 coming from the airborne infantry. The sad thing was that had it been successful, the war was projected to be over by December/January. Instead with the major defeat, the Germans bought themselves another 4 months. 
> 
> The Allied forces, having gambled and lost really badly with Market Garden, thought that the Germans would counter attack them when they were weak, not knowing how depleted their army was. Granted, the counter attack would end up happening in December. (Germany's final gamble in trying to win the European theater).


	20. 1944: Battle for Hurtgen Forest 2

_December 7, 1944  
Nightfall at the base of Hill 400_

“Captain, patrol’s back.” Evans whispered to Steve as he looked over the embankment to where the other officers were.

“Send ‘em in.” Steve replied as he looked over the map one last time.

The patrol quickly came in and gave him the grim news. News that he had already known before they had gone out on their scouting mission. There was no easy way up the 400 meter hill. Meaning the only way to get this done was through the hard way. 

He turned to his platoon leaders, “Alright guys, at 0715 our arty is going to rain down a flurry of hate on those positions above us. And at 0730 the rest of the battalion is going to be taking the city. So hopefully, we’ll be able to make the most out of the distraction. There’s no strategy here unfortunately, Dog Company will be on our right as we move up the hill, so I want all platoons to fix bayonets and form a line, that also includes you Welsh, with weapons platoon. That means dump the rocket launchers, mortars, and machine guns. We’ll need every man running at full speed up the hill.” He took a deep breath.

“They'll have a clear line of sight on us and a great vantage point, so even with the distraction in the city, they’ll notice us pretty quickly. So expect heavy, concentrated enemy fire.” He nodded to everyone there.

“We’re rangers, we lead the way. Let’s make this happen guys.” The men all nodded grimly to Steve.

They had seen the previous attempts to capture the hill. Thousands of men had run away and abandoned countless vehicles and supplies as they made their hasty retreat back to safety. What shocked them even more was the fact that they had abandoned their own wounded in order to run away. But they were rangers, the best the army had, and they knew that there was no one else that could do this job.

Diana closed the gap between herself and Steve to stand by his side. The men all looked up to her, believing they had a miracle on their side, and she knew how to play the part. But even she knew that many, if not most of these young men, who had been through so much, would not make it out of this day unscathed.

Steve murmured softly under his breath so that only she could hear, “It’s been exactly 2 years and 364 days since I enlisted.” He turned to look at Diana’s eyes, “here’s to hoping that I will celebrate the 3 year anniversary of that day.” 

Diana nodded, words unable to form, but knowing that she would protect him with everything she had.

The artillery rained down exactly at 7:15 AM. Some men voiced out that there couldn’t be anything alive up there. Others quickly reminded them of how tenacious these Nazi’s could be.  They hadn’t been at Omaha Beach, where the artillery had supposedly whittled down the beach defenses. The veterans knew that it was just a hope and a prayer if the artillery strike worked.

They waited for 15 minutes, what followed the thunderous noise of the barrage was complete silence. There was no sounds of birds or insects in the air, the hill in front of them sounded devoid of life.

Out of the silence, Steve heard Otto shout from the distance, “FIX BAYONETS!” 

Steve immediately followed, “FIX BAYONETS!” He steeled himself hearing Evans scream out, “LET’S GO GET THE BASTARDS!”

“CHAAARGE!” Steve screamed at the top of his lungs. Immediately the men around him began screaming out war cries and obscenities as they all began to immediately sprint up the steep hill. They moved as one, like a giant wave crashing into the beach, screaming and yelling at death to come. They moved with their bayonets shining and hip firing as they went up into the jaws of death. 

They had made it maybe a quarter of the way up the 400 meter climb before they were spotted. The next 300 meters was devoid of any cover or concealment. It was just an icy plain, and the rangers were easy pickings for the machine guns that rested on top of the hill.

The German guns immediately began focusing on the 200 men that were climbing up the hill. Never had the term _shooting fish in a barrel_ seemed more appropriate then now.

Steve saw Evans get shot and fall to the ground and immediately stopped in his tracks. “DIANA!” He screamed as she turned to look at Steve gesturing towards the wounded man. “GET HIM BACK TO SAFETY!”

Diana hesitated, but nodded and leaped after Evans. Steve turned back up to the hill and continued to run.

By the time they reached the top of the hill, he had lost nearly half of his men, and Dog Company wasn’t fairing any better. “DESTROY THE ARTILLERY GUNS!” He shouted out to those that were nearby.

Thankfully the resistance at the top of the hill was meek in comparison to the earlier charge. What was interesting to him was that at the top of the hill lay an underground maze like bunker. With artillery guns and vantage points looking out in every direction.

Steve looked out towards the city, explosions and gunfire seen miles away. He took the radio and reported back, “Major Winters, this is Captain Trevor, we have secured Hill 400 but have sustained heavy losses in both Dog and Fox companies. Requesting reinforcements as soon as possible.”

Colonel Rudder instead responded on the other end, “Excellent work boys. Now we’ve met higher than expected resistance, so it’ll take us a bit longer for us to get there. But we’ve got the boys from the 13th to help clear the city.” There was a pause in static, “It is imperative you hold that hill at all costs. We cannot lose that vantage point. The Germans are going to throw everything they got at you boys. Colonel Rudder out.”

Steve shook his head in disgust, before stepping out of the bunker. “Captain Masny, on me.”

Steve looked around, making sure that no one else was around, “Otto, helps not coming. The rest of the battalion is stuck in Bergstein, but the 13th division is helping them take the city. So they should be here shortly.”

“You know when they’ll arrive?” Otto looked at his company sergeant before looking back at Steve, “I lost over 50 men climbing up the hill, and another 10 or so clearing the bunkers. My company is literally below half strength. We can’t hold out on any major assault.”

“I’m in the same boat Otto, but we have to make do with what we have.” Steve grimaced, “We’re going to be hit hard once the Germans know we have this point. They want this hill as bad as we do. Tell your guys to get below decks and into the bunkers… We make our stand here.”

They had 10 minutes of peace before hell rained down upon them. Had they known that 18 battalions of German artillery were firing upon them, they probably would’ve appreciated how sturdy the German bunkers were. As it stood, the incoming barrage of fire was so intense that it felt like a torrential rainstorm, except instead of rain, it was shrapnel.

As soon as it lifted, Steve screamed out orders for the men to break up into small patrol units of 2 to scout below. Because of the limited amount of men he had, they had to mass the men in the areas that were being attacked, leaving the other areas undefended.

But his quick thinking was one of the reasons they were able to hold out for the day.

Diana, herself, was probably the biggest reason, acting as an entire company of men, charging down the hill and meeting the enemy head on, and then coming back up once they had retreated.

The Germans had launched 30 counterattacks by the time the sun had set, with artillery barrages mixed in-between each of the failed attacks. And even being outnumbered 10 to 1 and sometimes 20 to 1, they still managed to hold the line against the relentless waves of troops.

By the time dusk had set, it became apparent that the assault was over. The enemy artillery was finally silent.

Steve looked up at those who were still able to fight. They had only 25 men who were healthy. Captain Masny was killed helping the wounded in the aid station, along with 10 other men. In fact, all of the platoon officers were either killed or wounded. Steve was the only officer left on top of that hill.

He radioed once more back to headquarters, “Major Winters, this is Captain Trevor, over.” There was silence for a few seconds, before he heard the Major’s voice.

“This is Winters, how’re you doing up there Steve?” He could feel the worry in the former company commander’s voice.

“Not good sir. We lost all the officers of Dog Company, and Otto is KIA. Lipton, Nixon, and Welsh are wounded…” he paused, “And the replacement lieutenant, Ward, died. I’ve got no officers up here besides myself.”

He continued with the casualty list, “Out of the 200 men we assaulted with, I have 25 men able to fight. The rest are dead or wounded. Some of the wounded can fight, but I estimate that’s just a handful, maybe 20 or so more men.” He took a deep breath, “Sir, I do not believe we can hold the hill after another assault. When will reinforcements arrive?”

There was a long moment of silence then, long enough for shivers to enter his back before he heard Winter’s voice again, “Not tonight, and based off of how stiff the resistance in the city is, maybe not for another day.”

He heard Winter’s clear his throat, “But, we may be there earlier. Ever since you took the hill, we’ve been receiving less artillery fire. So we may be able to clear the city faster. But fighting’s fierce down here. We’ve had instances of hand to hand combat down here… But we’ll get to you.” Winters paused once again, “You saved a lot of men down here Steve. Colonel Rudder’s proud of you men. We’ll get to you as soon as we can, Winters out.”

Steve hung his head in weariness before looking up to see Diana. He sat down in a bunker and gestured for her to sit down. “How’s Evans and all the wounded doing?”

Diana shook her head, “Not well. But they’re all evacuated, only time will tell now.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Hill 400 is probably one of the bloodiest battles that the 2nd Rangers had to face. And unfortunately, it would be awhile before they could recover from this attack. 
> 
> To give you a hint of how many times the US attacked the hill.
> 
> They tried with the 47th, 110th, 112th, 121st, and 146th Infantry Regiment (~10,000 men/~2,000 men per regiment). And parts of the 5th Armored Division (tank division) tried and all failed. Granted they didn't attack all at once, but during different times.


	21. 1944: Battle for Hurtgen Forest 3

_December 8, 1944_ _  
_ _Hill 400_

Minus a few night skirmishes with enemy scouting teams, it was a relatively bloodless night. Something Diana was sure Steve was happy about, out of the 200 men, they were down to 25 men, with over 60 injured in the area unable to evacuate. She had volunteered to carry men back to the aid station even if it was a few miles away, but Steve had refused her request, believing that if they were attacked at night in force, he’d need her to fight with the company.

But morning came, and the men on the hill, deprived of sleep and wary of any attacks, sat there waiting with baited breath.

The peace lasted only a few moments after the sun rose, as she heard the tell-tale sign of artillery rounds shooting off in the distance.

“GET TO COVER!” She screamed as she raised her shield over her head and rushed to Steve’s position.

She had arrived there in a matter of seconds. And just as quickly, he had ordered her to move to the left flank, as they had desperately needed her help. They were grossly outnumbered and about to be overrun, so she rushed over to help push back the invaders.

It seemed like yesterday meant nothing for the German army, as they attacked with vigor again, sending in company after company of men up the hill. And each time, they had been repelled.

It was the final attack that struck the deepest chord with her.

She had singlehandedly taken the fight to the German forces below the hill, having just repelled another enemy company all by her lonesome self. When she turned around to see that there was suddenly fighting at the top of the hill. She flew back up the hill, her heart racing furiously against her chest.

She had just reached the top of the hill and easily subdued a few enemy soldiers before she pointed at a familiar face, “You there!” The soldier looked back at her in shock, “How did the enemy get up here?”

He mumbled, “They came from the other side. There were too many of them!” He stumbled to the ground and began to cradle his knees.

She had wanted to comfort the boy, but Steve was on the other side manning the defenses. And if they had got past him… _NO_ she screamed to herself, she would not think like that.

She had rushed forward, helping anyone she saw along the way before she felt her heart stop at the sight in front of her.

The bunker that Steve was in had taken a direct hit from an artillery round. Leaving it broken and exposed to the elements. The stench of burning flesh and blood emanating from the smoke filled ruin.

She walked slowly to the site when a soldier ran up to her, “IT’S NO USE! THEY’VE BREACHED THE LEFT SIDE!” He looked around frantically, “WE’RE SURROUNDED!”

He tugged on Diana’s arm futilely before running off to support the other side of the hill.

She was numb to the action around her, the only thoughts in her head was that she had failed him for the second and maybe last time.

She walked through the collapsed ceiling to see the damage. There wasn’t much left except for body parts strewn around haphazardly around the room. There was no way to determine if Steve was in there. Part of her hoped that he would’ve left to personally defend another area, but the other part knew that as the only officer there, he had probably stayed to coordinate the defense.

Sergeant Compton appeared by her left suddenly and out of breath, “ _Shit.”_ He bent forward to put his hands on his knees, trying to regain his composure, “Steve wanted a report on the left side. But it’s no use, I think we’ve lost the hill.” He said breathlessly.

Diana whispered out softly, “Was he in here?”

Compton just nodded, before adding, “I don’t know what to do. We’ve got wounded up here, and we can’t abandon them.”

She knew that she could easily beat back the assault, help them regroup from their losses. But all she wanted to do was to just mourn the loss that she had felt. It had felt pointless to fight at that moment.

She stared at Compton sadly before looking back at the rubble. She had grown to care for the men in Steve’s company and more so for the men that were in his original platoon. She couldn’t let them down. Deep down, she knew that Steve would’ve wanted her to fight and protect those that were dear to him. So she nodded, leaving the bunker with a heavy heart and a torn soul.

When she had beat back the invading force, it wasn’t anger or rage that had fueled her. It was out of desperation and grief. And as she slowly pushed the Germans off the hill, she saw the sight of hundreds of men storming up the hill wearing the badge of the 2nd Rangers.

They had finally arrived. But it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In reality the thing that stopped the German advances was accurate artillery fire from the US. They fired 18 battalions worth of artillery cannons at the bottom of the hill. Pretty much stopping any advance.
> 
> There were instances of 8 men who held off an entire company of 120 men by themselves.
> 
> The defense by the Rangers was so fierce that German commanders offered that whichever unit to capture it would receive Iron Crosses and 2 weeks leave. 
> 
> In the end, out of the 200 men that went up, they suffered 130 casualties in the 2 days of fighting.
> 
> Unfortunately this battle would be forgotten by most because of a few events that I'll cover in later chapters.


	22. 1944: Battle for Hurtgen Forest 4

_ December 8, 1944 _ _  
_ _ Hill 400 _

Diana looked as the men around her swarmed up the hill searching for the wounded and making sure the bunker was clear. 

She turned away from the devastation to see Compton speaking with Winters and Rudder. She had wanted to say something, to ask why they had been left without any help for two days. But it felt pointless to her, Steve was gone, and arguing with the two officers would’ve been pointless anyway.

A medic approached her speaking out slowly, “You ok ma’am? You look a bit shaken up?” 

She nodded wearily before making her way to where Steve had fallen, if only to find something to bury this time around instead of an empty coffin. She wouldn’t even know how to tell Etta about this. He had died last time sparing thousands if not tens of thousands of people from a deadly gas attack.

This time, he had died protecting what? An insignificant piece of land. She had sorted through the rubble before finding a very burnt dog tag that confirmed her fears. She could hardly make it out, but she felt the impression of the metal stamp and could see enough to piece it together. Steven R Trevor.  

Major Winters walked up next to her. Speaking with a tone of sadness, “They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying.” He looked at the rubble ahead of him, “The 2nd  is being pulled off the front lines, and we’ll be stationed a few miles away from the action for some R&R.” 

He looked at her, “You’re welcome to join. But I’d understand if you wanted to leave and go find yourself. For what it’s worth, what was done here was nothing short of a miracle. Over 10,000 men tried to take this hill from the Germans. It took you and 200 men to do what thousands couldn’t do.” 

He stood there for a few seconds to take one last look at the wreckage and pay his respects before walking away.

* * *

_ Earlier that day _

 

Steve looked around the bunker, it had become the makeshift headquarters, and he was quickly ordering men to move where the Germans were assaulting. But he could feel it instinctively that they had lost this fight. He dropped his head and said, “Compton, I need you to go to the left flank, and see if Diana has it in under control. I need to pull her and any men there over to reinforce the center of the hill.” 

Compton nodded as he exited the bunker. Steve looked at Sgt. McMurtry and Sgt. Hill, “We need to get the wounded out from the bunker and down the hill as discreetly as possible.” 

He looked out the window of the bunker and shouldered his rifle, “Contact front!” He screamed as he fired a few shots out. The two others in the room rushed to the front of the bunker, and Steve screamed out, “Mac! Hold them here! I’ll pass word to the wounded and come right back!” 

He only made it two steps before a fiery explosion washed over him.  

* * *

 

He woke up with an aching body and a definite concussion. He looked down to see that his clothes had been mostly burned off. He had wounds and burns on him that made it feel like his body was on fire.

But the damnedest thing happened in front of him, his burned skin seemed to be slowly healing itself and some of the shrapnel in his body was being pushed out of his skin, as if his body was performing its own surgery on itself. “What the hell?” he looked closer at the wounds to see that they were also mending together. 

“Well, this is new.” But he couldn’t stay grateful for long as he took a look around him.

It seemed like the bunker had caved in front of him, meaning the only way out was deeper into the bunker.  _ What had happened, _ he thought to himself before it hit him,  _ the battle! _

He painfully got up, his joints exploding out in pain and he swore he saw stars everywhere. But his adrenaline kept him going as he started to hobble towards the exit before realizing that he had no weapon, what was he going to do if he saw the enemy? Scream at them? 

He remembered the last piece of information he had received, the right flank had folded, and his side was getting rapidly pushed up the hill. They had no other choice but to retreat and he needed to evacuate the wounded. 

So he changed direction to go to where the wounded were, hoping that he could evacuate them under the chaos, and hopefully evade capture. 

It hadn’t taken him long to get there and start leading men down the hill out of the bunkers’ many exits. Thankfully the commotion at the top of the hill was enough of a distraction. The position had been clearly overrun, but hopefully Diana would be able to get out of the mess as well. He had wanted to help, but his wounds weren’t healing that fast and he still felt pieces of metal in his body. He would just be a bigger liability if he went back to help, he reasoned to himself.

His group of 40 or so wounded had made it down the hill before they had met with soldiers from the 13th Division that were about to storm up the hill. 

“Are you guys alright?” One of the soldiers said out loud to the group.

“No, we’re not alright. We need medics to tend with the wounded, and the guys on the stretchers are a priority.” Steve started to order the men around him, “Sort the men by condition and get them off. Are you all that’s retaking the hill?”

“No sir, the 2nd  rangers are on the opposite side of us climbing up as we speak.” The soldier glanced at the medics, “If you don’t mind sir, we have to be on our way up. The guys up top need our help.”

Steve just nodded and let them through. Reinforcements had got there soon enough, and he felt his body relax with relief. 

“Woah there. Sir. Sir?!” A medic went to grab Steve who had suddenly passed out. 

He checked on the wounds noticing the burned skin everywhere and the open wounds that were scattered across his body. Another medic piqued up, “Does he have tags?” 

“Nope, it looks like he’s been through a fire or something. Everything is burnt to a crisp and his dog tags are gone.” He gently laid Steve’s body on the ground and motioned for a nearby soldier, “Get a stretcher over here!”

It had only taken a few moments before two fresh faced soldiers came bearing a stretcher. The medic helped the two men lay Steve onto the stretcher and spoke up, “Keep him with the 2nd . When he wakes up, ask him for his ID.” The two soldiers nodded before running off.

The medic looked around him, it would be a long day ahead of him it would seem as he began working on the next wounded person at the makeshift medical point they had just created. “Alright boys, don’t worry, help’s here.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HE BACK! I was debating about pushing this further but it just made more sense to have it now.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> By the way, sometimes I re-edit the spelling or grammar so sorry if you see an update that's not really an update!


	23. 1944: Battle for Hurtgen Forest 5

_December 17, 1944  
Hurtgen Forest_

 

It was the early morning, but Compton had a lot to do now. He wasn’t just the new company first sergeant with Evans in the hospital, and Mac and Jones killed alongside with Steve. He was also the temporary commander of the ragtag company. He had done his best, sent out the casualty list of those he knew were dead and sent off the list to the aid station to have the doctors verify if any others had passed away from their injuries.

There wasn’t much to do and with no reinforcements, the 2nd Ranger battalion was extremely under-strength after the two days of fighting. So with no orders, they were stuck in a limbo, too small to be put in the front, and too large to be sent back to France or England. They were there just in case the German forces did something drastic that required every available person.

* * *

Diana sat with the 19 men who had made it unscathed during the two days of hell at the top of Hill 400.

She hadn’t spoken to anyone since he had died. There were no phones to speak with Etta, and there was no one she could open up to. But the men had given her space while making sure that she wasn’t alone. They knew she and the captain were one of the biggest reasons they were alive, and well everyone had admired the captain. So it felt right for them to do as much as they could for her.

But that morning had made her fall into a deeper depression when she heard the news from Winters.

He had assembled the battalion to give them an update, the 13th Infantry Regiment that had replaced them on top of Hill 400, had lost it to a German counter-attack, suffering many casualties as they retreated from the hill. And as of now, the US Army had decided that the strategic value of the hill was no longer necessary. There would be no further attempts to take it back.

 _So it was all for naught_ she thought angrily, _Steve had died for nothing in the end._ She felt her eyes water from the anger that she had felt bubbling in her stomach. She had half a mind to go and reconquer the hill, just so that his death would have meant something. Having it told to her that the hill had no value stung her in ways she couldn’t imagine.

He dismissed the battalion and a low murmur of dissent swept through the crowd, some voiced out that they should go back and get the _damned hill,_ and others questioned why they went in the first place.

 _They were just pawns in a silly game,_ Diana thought in anger, and SHE was not a pawn in anyone’s game.

She went about the rest of the morning stewing in her own anger, only few had approached her, to make sure that she wasn’t alone. But everyone could see the dark mood she was in.

As the sun rose and began to signal to everyone that it was high noon, she saw a familiar face come walking out of the jeep with a splint on his left arm.

McCoy was the first to notice and yelled out, “Well, look who's back from the dead!”

Scott Evans had what was called a _million-dollar wound_ a wound that was not fatal but not permanently crippling. He smiled as he stepped off the jeep and greeted the remaining men of the company, “Well lads, it looks like I’m done with the war.” He said gesturing to his arm.

“Apparently the bullet went through my arm and shattered the bone and then the bits of the bullet lodged itself right underneath my ribs, could’ve been fatal, but it was just skin deep.” He patted his ribs lightly and smiled.

“Doctor said that the bones will heal in time, probably 3-4 months before I can move it around. Another 5-6 months before I can hold anything with my left arm. But by the year end, he said it should be as good as new.” The men all smiled and congratulated him on the good news.

Compton walked up to Evans, “Well you sunuvabitch. You left the company in such a sorry state, it’s a good thing the Army’s getting rid of you.”

Evans chuckled back, “Aye, well I’m sure you’ll clean it properly then.” He paused for a second, “Where’s the lass?”

Compton shifted his eyes towards Diana before nodding in her direction mumbling softly, “Might want to give her some space. Hasn’t been the same since the Skipper went down.”

Evans’ eyes brightened at the fact, “Well then! I know exactly how to cheer her up!”

He turned to face Diana who had a soft smile on her face, “LASS! Comeon over here!”

Diana looked at him confusingly before slowly walking up to Evans, “It’s good to see you well. The blood and bones sticking out of your arm had me worried for your safety. Seeing you well has brought joy to my heart.”

Evans smiled, “Always blunt, you are, eh. Well I’ve got some good news for you lassie.”

She tilted her head, curious as to what the good news was.

He paused for dramatic effect, “I saw the Captain in the aid sta-“ She was already running to jump towards the station before he could finish.

He looked back at Compton, “Told ya!”

Compton looked at him in shock, “Is he ok? That artillery round was a direct hit. No one could’ve survived that.”

Evans just nodded with a large smile on his face, “Yeah, I didn’t know about that. But he seemed fine to me. He was in a coma when they brought him in. He woke up a few days ago and looked completely fine, but they wanted him to stay a few days to make sure he was alright. Apparently he was in way worse shape when they first looked at him, but now he’s ok.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to be him right now.” Compton said as he put his arm around Evans neck, “Let’s go tell everyone the good news.”

“Aye, careful with the arm lad!” Evans said as they sauntered off to tell the company.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For dramatic purposes the battalion commanders would get notification if one of the company commanders who was wounded was ok and ready to return to action. But for the purposes of my story, no one knows about Steve doing fine.


	24. 1944: Battle of Hurtgen Forest 6

_December 17, 1944_ _  
_ _Hurtgen Forest_

Steve laid frustrated in bed. The doctors couldn’t believe his quick recovery, had said it was impossible that he should be fine after only 9 days rest. But he felt like he was at 100%.

What did freak him out though, was that there was no lasting impressions on his body, no marks on his skin to show that it had been burned or that he was literally a pin cushion for metal a few days back. Now that he thought about it, his ankle healed ridiculously fast as well, and there wasn’t a scar from where the ricochet had gone through.

This was all a bit too weird for him, and apparently the doctors shared the same feelings. While he had enjoyed the first few days of rest, now all he felt was being cooped up in a cage. He needed to do something, he wanted to see what shape his company was in. And more importantly, how Diana was doing. He hadn’t spoken to her since the morning of the second day on that hill.

Hopefully she wasn’t hurt, but who was he kidding, she was Diana, a demi-goddess and nothing could take her down.

He moved to get up from the cot when he heard a loud commotion out front. His first thought was that the Germans may have pushed through, but the voices ahead of him seemed less anxious and worried, and more like surprised and _happy?_

It only took him a few more seconds to realize who or what it could be that could cause a commotion. So he tried to rushed out of the tent to confirm his suspicions, but as he got to the entrance, the tent flap was roughly pushed into his chest by a person entering, he grunted out in pain before hearing an indignant but familiar voice call out, “ _STEVE!?”_

He could recognize that voice anywhere, and it did wonders to his spirit. “Hey Diana!” He cheerfully replied before he was met with a bone crushing hug.

It took Steve a few seconds to realize a few things in that small moment. The first, was that it was the first time he felt her cry. The second, was that in his frustration with being confined in the aid station, he had forgotten to tell Diana, or anyone else for that matter, that he had made it out alive.

“Hey, now.” He whispered into her ear, “It’s ok. I’m sorry.” He repeated his apology over and over until he felt her slowly release him to stare into his eyes.

“How did you make it out alive?” Diana whispered, still holding onto his arms, afraid to let go.

“I have no clue to be honest. I saw some enemy soldiers in front of the bunker so I ordered Mac and Hill to hold them off, and I turned to get the wounded out of the hill, and the next thing I know…” He paused, remembering the feel of his body literally on fire and passing out immediately from what seemed to be an explosion.

“I must’ve made it far enough out of the bunker before the round exploded.” He looked at his arms and his hands, a few days earlier they were bright pink and marked with indents of where skin used to be, and now it was like nothing had happened.

He contemplated telling her about his unusual recovery, but thought better of it. She didn’t need to know about the horrific injuries that happened to him, especially since now he was completely fine. No reason in getting her more worried than she already looked.

So he smiled at her, “But, I am sure glad to see you Diana.” He looked back at the wounded in the tent, “There’s so many wounded here that the doctors can’t even deal with all of these poor guys.”

He shuddered quickly before whispering in her ear, “I need to get out of here. This place is gonna give me nightmares if I stay any longer.”

Diana wordlessly nodded and grabbed his hand to lead him outside. A doctor went to stop Steve from leaving, but one look from Diana and he quickly turned away. _The patient was fine anyway,_ was the only thought running through the doctor’s head.

* * *

They had traveled in relative silence back to the company and the entire time Diana hadn’t let go of his hand. Not that he minded of course, but something felt different this time around. Sure they hadn’t officially said anything to one another about how they felt about each other, with the war going on and everything. It had seemed unimportant at the time, and given the fact that either one of them could die, well, more like given that _he could die_ , he didn’t want her to feel the burden of his own mortality. He didn't want to put her through the same grief and stress that her mysterious lover did back in the first world war.

He was brought out of his musings when Diana spoke up suddenly, “I thought you dead. And it broke my heart.” She turned her head to face him, “I told you about a man that I used to love, but what I didn’t tell you was that I never got to tell him that I loved him before he died.”

She paused again reliving the night when she was given _his_ watch, “It was one thing to watch him die. But it was another to know that he never got to hear that I loved him back. And I vowed that if I could ever love someone again, that I tell them the moment I knew it myself.”

She gripped his hand tighter, “And it almost happened again.”

Steve shook his head, “You don’t have to feel bad about that, if what you told me was true, then he knew you loved him.”

Diana continued over him, “Steve, I love you. And I can’t lose you.” _Not again, never again_ were the words unsaid but a promise that she could try to protect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just hit over 200 Kudos, never thought so many people would enjoy this. 
> 
> I know the chapters are a bit short, and I'll try to make them longer, but other than that, I see an ending soonish with the war almost over as well. I'm going to guess this will be around 31-35 chapters? So a bit away but nearing the end. May go more or less depending on how this plays out in my head.


	25. 1944: Battle of the Bulge 1

_December 17, 1944_

_Hurtgen Forest_

 

Steve was welcome back with open arms by Winters. Who seemed more relieved by the fact that he didn’t need to scrounge up an officer to lead the company. “Welcome back to the land of the living.” Were Winter’s first words to him, followed by, “We’ve got a mess on our hands right now.”

With both Dog and Fox Companies having lost all of their officers and suffered tremendous casualties on Hill 400, with Steve’s “rebirth”, as a lot of men were coining it, the remnants of the two companies would be merged together to form Dog Company with Steve at the helm of the company. They would also receive soldiers from other companies to bolster their strength. 

It wasn’t much of a change, other than the fact that the battalion was still way under strength. And with reinforcements not likely, what was once a 1,200 man battalion, was now more along the lines of a 600 man battalion or 3 full strength companies, or as they stood now, 4 semi-full companies. For now, Easy and Fox Companies would remain empty until they would be receiving reinforcements.

Looking at the long list of things he had to do was convenient for now. It allowed him to take his mind off of Diana’s earlier confession. He was ashamed to admit that he couldn’t say the words back to her. Not that he didn’t love her. It was the circumstances that they were in that forced his silence.

Steve knew that he loved her, but his own mortality bothered him in two ways. The first was that he could die at any moment, and he wouldn’t want to put Diana through losing a loved one having lost her mystery man in an untimely fashion during the first World War. The second was of time.

Even if he made it out of this god forsaken war, he would age, but she would always stay the same. On a base level, it seemed unfair for her remain with him and to take care of an old man crippled with age while she would remain a beacon of youth. And it seemed cheesy to believe this, but he also believed that there was one true partner out there for everyone. And as much as she loved him, what would 100 years or even 200 years mean to an immortal?

She would outlive him and other countless loved ones. And a selfish part of him wanted him to not just be a footnote to another person.

Regardless, he couldn’t just go into this half-heartedly, Diana deserved better than just a fling. He would make up his mind in due time, but right now, the most pressing matter was staying alive, so that he could contemplate a future relationship with her.

He had made it back to the tents of where his company lay and was about to deliver the news, when he heard alarms ring out everywhere. It was the sound to muster to the staging area immediately. He saw Diana look out in confusion from a tent before rushing up to Steve and asking, “What’s going on?”

“Dunno. Something big though, you should probably tag along.” He replied before rushing off into the madness of people scrambling around trying to make their way to the assembly point.

Thousands of men stood still in the forest opening, looking for a sign of what was going on, when General Parker stood to address the men.

The area went silent immediately as he began his address, “Yesterday, at 0530 hours, the German forces simultaneously attacked the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 21st, 26th, 28th, 30th, 75th, 84th, 99th, and 106th Infantry Divisions over an 80 mile front. One of the largest assaults we’ve ever seen. It was preceded by a 90 minute artillery barrage with over 2,000 cannons.” He paused to stare at them, “Everyone got the hell beat out of them and no one blames them for getting pushed back all the way to Bastogne.”

He continued, “But as of right now, speed is of the essence, the enemy is pushing so fast that they are technically behind us. We are to immediately fall back to the city of Spa and reform the line north of Bastogne and protect the left flank. We move out within the hour. I want battalion commanders to meet me in the command tent and all company commanders to begin breaking down the camp and be ready to move. Everyone dismissed.”

Chaos began immediately as men were tasked to disassemble the outpost and load everything into trucks to retreat.

Steve looked around at his company and started to bark out orders, he had no platoon commanders but that didn’t matter now. He needed everyone to start packing and moving out.

Diana quickly approached him in the mayhem. “Could you explain what’s going on?”

Steve spoke quickly, “The entire division is technically behind enemy lines. The entire US Army just got pushed back 20 miles in one day. Thankfully, we were far north of where all the action was going on, but we need to move before we end up getting surrounded. And if we don’t move carefully, we may be walking straight into the German army.”

She only nodded in understanding before helping break down the camp with the others.

The day moved by quickly as the 78th Infantry Division saddled up to leave towards the city of Spa. There they met up with elements of the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 99th, 106th Infantry Divisions. With reinforcements coming from the 82nd Airborne Division.

By the time everyone was situated, stories were beginning to unfold of the chaos of the day before. He only had to wait a day before he would see the attack firsthand.

* * *

 

_Later that evening_

Steve was in the middle of helping McCoy dig a foxhole when he felt a low rumbling in the ground. A look of confusion spread across his face, _earthquake_ was his first thought.

McCoy stopped digging to look up at the horizon and muttered, “Oh shit.”

Steve paused and looked up, from the edge of the forest he saw outlines in the dark night and dropped his shovel.

“Bones, get your supplies and get to the back.” Steve went to grab his rifle. “Go. Now!” He whispered.

McCoy just nodded his head and scrambled out of the hole as quickly as he could. Steve took a quick look around him before pushing himself out of the hole as well.

He crouch walked across the line whispering words of encouragement and to hold their fire. Diana quickly found him and grabbed his arm, “You should find cover.” She whispered in a stern voice.

“Diana, I need you to go with Compton on the right, third platoon is understrength.” Steve went to grab a radio when he realized that Diana hadn’t let go. He looked back at her with a furrowed brow.

“No, I will stay with you.” Diana stated in a tone that brooked no argument.

Steve noticed the look in her eyes and knew that there was no way he could persuade her to go, so he just whispered back, “If it gets really bad, I’ll need you to go over there.”

He felt her release his arm and grabbed the radio, whispering softly into the receiver, “HQ this is Captain Trevor, we got the entire German Army right in front of us. I don’t think they notice that we’re in the forest, over.”

“This is Colonel Rudder, over. Do not fire upon the enemy. Once they have pass you, we are to fall back and reinforce the 99th and 2nd divisions at Elsenborn Ridge. Rudder out.”

After a bit of a back and forth between battalion and division headquarters, the message was clear. The enemy had moved a lot faster than expected.

The entire division moved out under the cover of darkness, careful not to alert their traveling neighbors.

They had arrived safely to their new positions north of the ridge before everyone heard the opening salvo of the German Army. The attack had begun just south of them.

Steve motioned for his acting platoon leaders to regroup at his position, “I want all platoons to spread out and find cover as best as possible. We won’t have time to dig up fox holes, so make do with what we have available. I want our guys to be positioned at least 10 yards apart from each other. Get to work gentlemen.”

They all nodded before heading their separate ways. Steve felt the familiar rumblings on the ground, the action would finally catch up to them. He steadily pointed his rifle towards the bottom of the ridge, he whispered out loudly, “Hold your fire. Wait for my command!” Word quickly passed through the line as everyone nervously waited.

The rumblings got louder but he still couldn’t see anything in front of him, when it slowly dawned on him that the noise was coming up from behind them. Fear gripped his heart as he wondered how the hell they got behind them, and slowly turned his head.

Right along the far tree line behind them, even in the dark night, he saw the tell tale sign of multiple tanks.

 _Shit_ .  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just figured that some people might not know how the breakdown of an Army went.
> 
> At the very top, it's called an Army Group, in WWII there was the 6th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 18th, and 21st Army Group (Don't know why they didn't just use 1-6)
> 
> Let's use the 12th Army Group as an example.
> 
> The 12th Army Group is composed of 4 Field Armies (First Army, Third Army, Ninth Army, and Fifteenth Army; again don't know why they didn't go 1-4). With the leader of the 12th Army Group being General Omar Bradley and most notably from the Third Army is Patton.
> 
> After the Field Army there are Corps. So in the First Army there was the VII Corps. Third Army there was the III, V, XII, XX Corps. Ninth Army had VIII, XIII, XVI, XIX Corps. And Fifteenth Army had XVIII Airborne Corps, XXII, and XXIII Corps. 
> 
> In each Corp there are 3-4 Divisions. Fun fact of the day is that some divisions were not assigned to a Corp, they were activated and moved around to different Corps wherever it was necessary. (IE Third Army had the famous 1st Infantry Division, as well as the 2nd, 9th Armored, 70th, and 97th Infantry Divisions that were not assigned to any Corps)
> 
> Each Division was broken down to Regiments. Each Division generally had 3 Infantry regiments and 4 Artillery Battalions, an engineering battalion (to build things), a medical battalion (to have aid), and quartermaster battalion (to have supplies).
> 
> Each Regiment is broken into 3-5 battalions. 
> 
> I bring this up because the 2nd Ranger Battalion was a special unit, thus they were attached to different divisions (that needed help) throughout the war. Right now, they are attached to the 78th Infantry Division. For those who are interested, the 2nd Rangers were attached to the 29th Division for D-Day (Operation Overlord), then attached to the 8th Division for the Battle of Brittany. They were then attached to the 78th during the Battle of the Bulge and then the 102nd for the remainder of the war and occupation of Germany.
> 
> I also brought this up because I didn't want people to be confused with the 2nd Division and the 2nd Ranger Battalion. As they are completely separate units. 
> 
> After Battalions you have companies usually 6-9 companies. Each Company is split into 3-4 platoons. Each platoon is split into 3-4 squads. Each squad is usually 2-3 teams. Each team is 3-4 people. 
> 
> So a Recap: Army Group - Field Army - Corps - Divisions - Regiments - Battalions - Company - Platoon - Squad - Fire Team


	26. 1944: Battle of the Bulge 2

_December 18, 1944_

_Elsenborn Ridge_

 

_Shit._

_Could he catch a break for once in his damn life._ He turned his body around and whispered out loud, “Contact rear! Everyone hold your fire.”

Diana turned to look behind them and brought up her shield and whispered, “Steve, I can take of it.”

He looked at her with worry showing all over his face, “Diana, we don’t even know how many of them there are. I know you’re strong, but there could be an entire battalion on the other side.”

She fiercely whispered back, “Then I can make a distraction for you and your men to get to safety. I’ll leave if I head into any real trouble.”

He didn’t have time to argue back as she leapt towards the treeline behind them.

And like hell he would leave her to go fight this battle by herself. He ran up to Compton screaming out orders, “Get the company to fall back to Charlie Company.”

Grabbing a bazooka from a stunned soldier, he went to wage a one man and woman attack on the nearby forces.

And just how Steve wouldn’t let Diana face the enemy alone, so too would his company not leave him to face the enemy alone. Thus began a mad scramble of men running blindly into the face of danger against an unknown enemy force.

It was in the dash towards the tree line did he notice a few odd things. The first was that the enemy wasn’t firing, and the second was, there should’ve been some noise or commotion since Diana would’ve already gotten there before them.

And at the pure coincidence of thinking of Diana, he heard her gleefully yell, “Steve, these are Americans!”

Stopping him and everyone around him dead in their tracks.

McCoy was the first to break the silence, “Well doesn’t that make us look like a bunch of fools.” Laughter began to break out among the ranks from nervousness and relief.

Steve just shook his head in relief and let out a nervous chuckle himself. He walked up to Diana and the vehicles before encountering another soldier.

“Captain Collier, Charlie Company of the 741st Tank battalion, at your service.”

Steve shook his hand and asked, “How many are you?”

Collier replied, “10 Sherman Tanks. And you?”

Steve wearily replied, “Captain Trevor, Dog Company of the 2nd Rangers. I’ve got 150 men and,” he pointed at Diana, “one Wonder Woman.”

Collier nodded, “Seems as if we’re both a bit understaffed.”

Steve chuckled, “Well, Wonder woman over there, is easily worth a company of men, though I think I’m selling her a bit short.”

The tank captain joked back, “You can say that again. We were given orders to help reinforce the northern edge of the ridge and maintain radio silence. Figured we’d stop and let you guys know that we’re coming in from behind you on foot. And then out of nowhere.” He stopped to gesture at Diana. “She comes flying towards us as we’re getting out of the tanks. One of my guys almost shit himself when she landed right in front of him and about ready to give him a beating of a lifetime. Thankfully she noticed the flag on his uniform.”

The two captains laughed at the close calls they both faced before Steve spoke up again.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like for your tanks to position yourself at the front of the ridge, and cover my guys as they begin to dig in. We’re expecting a counter-attack with all the noise that’s happening south of us.”

“Will do. Nice to know that we’ve got the 2nd as our support.” Collier said as he motioned for his men to get back in the tanks.

“Nice to know that we finally get tank support.” Steve answered back as he did the same for his company.

He walked up to Compton shaking his head, “What happened to falling back to safety?”

“What happened to common sense?” Compton answered back playfully before yelling out, “Dog Company, we’re going back to our original positions! Move out!”

Diana saddled up next to Steve with a smile, “Looks like we finally catch a lucky break.”

“Seems like it.” He replied as he watched everyone around him joke around at what had just transpired.

* * *

Night had passed with relative silence, and while they were met with heavy enemy forces in the morning. They were easily thwarted with the help of the Captain Collier and his tanks.

It had seemed that the Germans were caught off guard, expecting only infantry to be guarding the ridge, the presence of tanks forced them to a hasty retreat.

Steve got off the radio to look out at the forest in front of them, “Seems like this battle is a mixed bag. In some cases we got further pushed back, in others, we’ve managed to hold off any enemy elements. And in our case, most of the action is south of us.”

Diana relaxed against the hard dirt on her back, “Our luck continues.”

“And hopefully continues this way. The Germans have only sent a fraction of what they have up here, more like a scouting party to see if there was a way around the bulk of our forces south of here." He paused to remember the grim news from earlier, "There’s also a rumor spreading that the Germans are executing prisoners or anyone they catch.” He closed his eyes in weariness.

“And it’s starting to look true. Apparently a unit of the 285th Field Artillery Battalion got ambushed and went missing earlier this morning. A few hours ago, some survivors evaded capture and made their way back to the front lines. The army is going to confirm their stories, but in any case. We’ve been unofficially told that we don’t take any prisoners for now. It’s a shoot on sight order if they surrender.” He shook his head in disgust. “What has this war come to?” He asked rhetorically, but Diana answered anyway.

“Not all men are evil, and not all battles are honorable. It is up to you to make the difference.” She stared into his eyes, “Either way. I know you’ll do what you believe is right.”

He nodded slowly, for now the unofficial order would be unspoken and hopefully remain silent from his lips throughout the war. There had been enough death and destruction already.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there were a lot of massacres that happened during the Battle of the Bulge.
> 
> The Baugnez Crossroads Massacre was when the SS killed 84 American POWs. According to the 43 survivors (who fled when the SS opened fire on them), they had surrendered and had thrown away there weapons as instructed. They were then stripped of their supplies and winter clothing (mainly jackets). And then shot and killed. No one knows why they opened fire suddenly, but it's believed that the commander ordered it because they couldn't carry any prisoners (not enough men and supplies to take care of them) and believed letting go of 120+ men would hurt the losing war effort. 
> 
> The Wereth 11 Massacre was also committed against an artillery battalion, the 11 black soldiers had gotten lost when their unit was overrun by the German forces. According to witnesses, they were given shelter by a Belgium farmer named Mathias. But the wife of a German soldier saw them and reported them to the 1st SS Division. It was believed that because they were black, that they were tortured before killed. They were discovered months later in Mid-February.
> 
> There was also the Malmedy Massacres which was around 373 dead POWs and civilians. 
> 
> Then finally the Bande Massacre which was when the SS killed 34 supposed Belgium resistance fighters. They were discovered 3 weeks after the battle was over in a cellar in an abandoned house. 
> 
> All of these acts were committed by the SS. It would be one of the first times the US would see the atrocities that they committed.


	27. 1944: Battle of the Bulge 3

_December 19, 1944_

_Elsenborn Ridge_

 

Relaxing wasn’t something Steve was used to, for the past 3 years of the war, he hadn’t had much time to rest. Especially when he was considered to be on the frontlines. But that’s exactly what was happening.

All of the action was happening south of them. Stories were being told of other companies gallantry in action. How a sergeant in the 393th infantry regiment and his squad held back an entire German regiment for a full day. Or how a private of the 9th infantry regiment stopped an entire tank battalion by himself.

And while these stories were exaggerated by each person who would tell them. There was more truth than fiction in them.

Steve had just finished telling another one of these stories to Diana and commented out loud, “If it weren’t for the fact that I knew you were with me the entire time. I swear that these stories were about you. I mean, a few guys stopping an entire regiment or one man stopping an entire tank battalion?”

She quipped back, “Men are capable of impressive things. Not everyone needs powers to be great.”

“But it definitely helps.” He said while thinking back on the day he survived the explosion.

“What’s been on your mind recently.” Diana said with a hint of worry. “You’ve looked unwell since you’ve come back from the aid station.”

There was a brief debate whether or not to tell her about his newfound healing abilities or even his feelings on her recent confession. But he didn’t know how to bring up his health nor his love life in a natural way to her. _Hey, I have some superhuman healing abilities_ or _Hey, I love you, but I don’t want to tie you down when I’ll die someday in the future and you’ll remain forever young._

He paused for a second at the two thoughts. Like a light bulb in his mind just turned on. What if his healing abilities also prolonged his life? It would make some sense, he’d seen Diana recover from wounds fast, the same way his wounds healed, albeit a lot slower, but healed the same way.

That sounded crazy, but Diana was living proof that crazy could also be normal, he opened his mouth to speak, when a flash of light hit him.

* * *

_What the hell?_

He looked around in puzzlement. It was like time had stood still, Diana stood in front of him like a statue. He waved his hand in front of her eyes, but there was no reaction.

“Diana?” He said nervously as he stood up and looked around him. It wasn’t long before he noticed that there was another person staring at him and Diana.

An ordinary man by appearance, he looked as if he were in his late 50s, with a face withered with age and eyes that had seen too much. He was dressed normally, he had on winter apparel for the cold weather in Belgium. Everything would’ve been normal, had it not been for the fact that he had appeared out of nowhere and was standing in the middle of the war zone nonchalantly.

Something in Steve told him to not make this man an enemy. There was something in this unknown person's gait that promised a world of pain should he attempt something. So he just stood there quietly, waiting for the older man to address him. And after a few minutes of him staring at Diana, he turned to face Steve.

“I had hoped that it would be a bit longer before you said something to her.” He put his hand on his chin, “Though I am surprised that you would keep things a secret from her for so long.”

Steve felt a bit annoyed, but kept it to himself, “Who are you?” Was all he could muster out.

“I am her father.” Was the simple reply. Zeus looked at Diana with a warm affection, “But, I have been less of a father to her, or any of my children for the matter of that fact. She was created out of a necessity to bring peace to the world of man. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t love her any less.”

“She told me that all the Gods died a long time ago, and that she killed the last one in World War I. So how are you alive?” He questioned back.

“Gods do not die, we had just stopped meddling in human affairs around the time of what you would consider the Roman times. We believed that for all the good that we were trying to do, we ended up corrupting mankind in another way. They prayed to us to help them kill each other and believed it work when they were victorious, or were scorned when they lost.” Zeus sighed wearily, “But that is not true. I love all of my creations equally, and I would never want them to kill each other.

Zeus paused, "But to answer your question, my son and I had both fought with all of our power against each other. But it was I who had won the fight and banished him to this world and took his powers from him. With the fighting over, we took the time to heal ourselves.”

He continued, “I had hoped that Ares would see the fault in his ways and grow sympathetic to the nature of humanity. But all it did was twist him even more. I never expected Ares to regain his powers. It was naive of me to think that I could fully strip another God of his powers. And when he came back, feasting on the death and destruction that man had caused and continued to cause.” Zeus shook his head sadly, “It was too late for us to stop what Ares was doing. He had barely used any of his powers and influence for us to notice any of his meddlings, but he had done enough to plant the ideas of creating those terrible weapons for mankind to destroy itself.”

“But Diana was able to stop him.” Steve finished for him, “The war was won and the weapons Diana spoke of were destroyed.”

Zeus nodded solemnly, “We had promised to never intervene again in human affairs, but this was an exception as one of our own had helped sew discord into the world.”

“But you said it was too late for you to intervene? So what was the exception?” Steve was getting confused and there were so many unanswered questions. He wanted, no needed, to understand what was going on. His thoughts were broken by two simple words.

“You were.”

Steve blinked once, then twice, attempting to understand the meaning behind those two simple words. He furrowed his brow in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“In Diana’s battle with Ares. We had come down to defeat Ares once more. But we had stopped to see what decision Diana would make in sparing the life of a woman who had indirectly killed her love.” Zeus smiled, “She chose love and compassion for mankind. And in a matter of moments she defeated Ares without our help.”

He chuckled at the memory, “Aphrodite was the one who thought that she should be rewarded for defeating Ares and renewing the peace of mankind. She also believed that the thing Diana wanted most was more time with the one she lost... My wife had only agreed to the boon if they had no memories of each other and to start over. That if they were truly meant to be then they would find each other again. Though I believe that her motivation came out of spite.”

The pieces started to click together slowly for Steve, he snorted in amusement, “So you’re telling me that I was the one that Diana lost back then, and you _created_ me?”

“And I’m assuming out of clay?” He added sarcastically, before realizing who he was speaking to, “I mean. Am I?”

That earned him a hearty laugh from the amused God, “No, you are made out of human flesh but since I personally created you, I imbued a small portion of my power, for a better lack of a term, into your body, allowing you to be bathed in the river Styx.”

Steve closed his eyes to bring back what he remembered about mythology and replied, “So you mean I’m like Achilles?”

Zeus chuckled once more, “Yes, like the legend of Achillles. You will still bleed and suffer wounds, but you will never die unless struck down by a God. You will continue to age until you are at the peak of your physical prowess and stop aging from there. Does that answer the question brewing in your mind?”

He only had one more question left, “What about the dreams that I’ve been having? Were those memories?”

Zeus nodded, “We took your soul from its journey to Elysium and sent it into this body. Hera suppressed the memories of your former life, but I have a feeling that Aphrodite meddled around with the seal allowing itself to unravel in due time.”

He paused to let Steve internalize the new discovery before continuing, “It would have been disastrous to have 30 years of memories forced into a baby, child, or teenager for that matter. It’s still dangerous even for adults. To have so many memories flooding your mind, could force you into a deep sleep. Time would be difficult for you to comprehend, and your memories would be muddled with each other.”

Zeus looked at him solemnly, “I could undo what has been suppressed. Or I could strengthen the seal and you would gradually remember your past life as you are right now. The choice is yours.”

“Why now? Why not later? And how come your wife is ok with this all of a sudden?” Steve questioned back.

“If you had revealed what was in your heart, I am sure that the Aphrodite’s meddling would’ve caused the seal to become permanently undone. Forcing you to regain all of those memories at once. And my wife’s temperament is of a fickle nature. She had lost interest in Diana and has become more at peace with my permanent stay at Olympus.” Zeus put a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

Steve thought long and hard about what he wanted to say before asking, “Could I ask you to undo it at a more convenient time? Like after the war?”

“Life is rarely convenient, and there are no guarantees that should I strengthen the seal and come back to remove it some months or even years later, that nothing of consequence would happen to your mind.” Zeus said as he finished his speech and stared calmly at Steve.

Steve hesitated for a second, contemplating the good and the bad, and made his decision.

“Undo the seal.”

* * *

Diana saw him about to say something when he was suddenly struck by lightning. Her arms raced to grab him from slumping over.

“STEVE!” She cried out in agony.

He slumped over unmoving, taking shallow breaths. Diana looked around helplessly, her mind unable to process what had happened so randomly.

McCoy showed up suddenly, panting, and out of breathe, “What happened?”

Diana just held up Steve in her arms, tears threatening to fall from her face as she stood in stunned silence.

McCoy quickly felt for his pulse, noticing that it was lower than normal and checked his eyes to see that they were lolled to the back of his head. “He seems to just be unconscious. Let’s get him to an aid station.”

He looked at Diana and put a hand on her shoulder, “Diana! I need you to get him to an aid station. Do you think you can do that?”

His touch brought her out of her stupor, and she nodded before leaping away in a hurry.

In all of Leonard McCoy’s years as a civilian doctor and as a combat medic for the army, he had never seen someone as lucky and unlucky in all of his years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the mythology part. 
> 
> I had debated on whether or not they would start fresh. And I was really split 50/50 on this. But I ended up going with him regaining his memories.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> Felt like adding a few things: Pfc. William Soderman was awarded the Medal of Honor for single handedly stopped 2 companies worth of tanks by himself AND then fought off a platoon of soldiers by himself. 
> 
> Or Cpl. Warner who fought against a tank company by himself, disabling 4 and forcing another to retreat before being killed by the sixth.
> 
> Sgt. Vernon McGarity and his squad managed to hold off an assault of 4 Tanks and a company of soldiers, and only surrendered the next day because they had run out of ammunition.
> 
> There were hundreds of stories like this, such as Sgt. Lopez who held off an entire regiment with just a machine gun.


	28. 1944: Battle of the Bulge 4

_December 25, 1944_

_Berg, Belgium_

 

While there were stories of a Christmas Truce in the past war, there was no such truce this time around. But there was a brief lull in the combat. The Germans had shelled a few American positions and the Americans returned the favor, as if to notify each other that there would be no temporary truce today.

Beyond that, there were no attempts to attack each other, it seemed that both sides wanted to observe the holy night. There was a muted celebration that was going around the city of Berg from both the trapped civilians and the soldiers that occupied the streets.

But Diana could not find it in her heart to join the festivities. She had started her own solemn vigil at Steve’s bedside. The doctors were confused at his medical predicament. If what was relayed to them was true, he should have had signs of being hit by lightning, but there was not a blemish in sight. The only thing wrong with him was that he was just asleep.

At first the doctors didn’t think the situation was anything serious, something that infuriated Diana and caused her to almost fall into a deep rage. But as the day went on longer and Steve remained asleep, they had allowed him to stay in the makeshift hospital for as long as necessary.

She had heard of miraculous things happening on this day, and during her time in man’s world, she understood the importance of this _Christmas Day_. It was a day to exchange gifts and have great feasts with family and friends. And Etta had told her of the tale they told children, about how if they were good children, they would be rewarded with the gift of their desires.

And while she was far from a child, if there was any gift she wished for, it would be that Steve wake up from his slumber. But morning passed with no change, and afternoon shortly followed.

It was approaching dusk when her stomach rumbled, signaling to her that she had again missed eating anything that day. So she wearily stood up and tried to lighten her spirits by joking with the sleeping man, “Don’t you dare wake up without me.”

She had just made it to the doorway when she heard the sheets rustling behind her, followed by a soft groan.

Her head whipped around to face the waking man, and she quickly ran to his side.

Steve opened his eyes slowly and grimaced. He was experiencing the largest migraine known to man and it was rather debilitating. He heard someone whispering something to him, but honestly, he couldn’t focus on the voice or what was being said.

His vision was still blurry but he could make out that there was a person standing very close to him, and while his eyes were trying to focus on the stranger it would be a few seconds for his vision to return to him normally.

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. His heart started to beat rapidly as he remembered living two distinct and very different lives. Yet, he hadn’t changed much. Sure his younger self had a tougher beginning, but being raised as the one of the youngest in a family of 5 kids was no walk in the park either. Especially with three older sisters and one younger brother _who had looked up to him._

It was all there, but not there at the same time. It was funny that the one thing that remained the same was meeting a Candy and _her._ He opened his eyes once more to smile at the person standing by his side.

His vision had returned, and she looked exactly the same from both memories. She was still the most beautiful person he’d ever met.

“Diana” he whispered like a prayer.

“Steve, are you ok?” She looked sick with worry and the first thing he had wanted to do was calm her down. So he sat up and put his hand on top of hers and smiled.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He paused a second before blurting out, “I’m Steve.”

Which was answered with a confused look and a nervous smile, “Yes, you are Steven Trevor.”

“No, I mean. I’m Steve, former pilot in the AEF and I guess former member of the SIS.” He looked at her eyes and saw the recognition flash into her eyes.

She whispered, almost reverently, “Steve?”

He smiled even wider, “Sounds weird hearing my name over and over and mean different things, huh?” He laughed and continued on, “Man it’s the weirdest thing to experience living two different but similar lives. I mean, I guess that makes me 56 years old?”

“You look good for a 56 year old man.” Diana replied with a smile that matched his own.

“I did say that I was above average.” He joked back as he moved to get up from the bed. Before stumbling towards her with a surprised cry.

“Sorry, my legs are like jelly right now.” He said as he grabbed hold of her shoulders and used her as a crutch to stand. “How long was I out?”

“A little over a week.” She replied as she wrapped her arm around his waist to hold him up.

“That long? Well I guess it could’ve been worse.” He sighed as he straightened up against her arm. “I met your father by the way.”

She stood there in shocked silence. Her mouth opened and closed trying to articulate something, but nothing could come out.

Steve continued, “He said something about how Gods don’t die. Which I guess means that Ares didn’t really die that day. But he didn’t seem to worried about it, so I assume everything is fine.”

Diana finally spoke up, “Why would Zeus tell my mother that all of the Gods were dead then?”

“He did mention something about how all the Gods had made some sort of pact to not come down here again. So maybe they thought it best that everyone think them gone?” Was the best answer Steve had as he felt his stomach begin to rumble.

Diana snapped out of her stupor, “Well, I suppose if they have decided to stay out of man’s world then it is for the better. Let’s have supper shall we?”

He nodded with a smile and laughed suddenly, “Oh yeah! I forgot, apparently I am God’s _gift_ to you for defeating Ares.”

She raised an eyebrow and smirked, replying, “Well, you are the best gift I have ever received.”

* * *

It hadn’t been long for Steve to mention their old friends.

Diana had smiled and had told him that they were well enough, but that she had kept herself in relative isolation from anyone and everyone. Only Etta and her stubbornness could break through to her.

Steve frowned, “So you’re saying that Sameer left you alone? That’s uncharacteristic of him.”

“Not by his choice. I was not myself for the first few months. They all tried to help in their own way, but we all had our own demons to fight.” She sat at a nearby bench and motioned for Steve to sit next to her.

“But I do know that Sameer managed to pursue acting.” She smiled at the memory of watching him perform in a small theatre in Paris. “He was by far the best actor of his group.”

“No kidding huh? Well, he did have a way with words. I remember there was this one time in the war, we were stuck behind the German lines in the middle of the night smuggling some map of where German guns were. And we realized that there was no way for us to get back to safety except to go through them. We didn’t even have a uniform or anything, just a helmet we picked up along the way.” He chuckled at the thought, “So we both rolled around in the dirt until our clothes and faces were properly caked with mud and we just strolled right up through the middle of the line.”

“We got stopped maybe once or twice, but the best part was that he pretended to be a German officer. You should’ve seen the look on everyone’s faces seeing this person completely covered in mud shouting out nonsensical orders. And they all just took it in stride.” He reveled at the memory of Sameer, before sighing, “I miss those bastards.”

“We’ll see them soon enough. Though I do think Etta won’t be pleased with you.” Diana said as she tightly wrapped her hand around his.

“Yeah she’ll definitely have words with me this time around.” He felt his stomach growl again and looked down, “It looks like my hunger is getting the best of me… You wouldn’t happen to know of any place that is serving food right now?”

She replied with a sour face, “I think the only place that will have food is in your Army’s food tent.”

“Aww, it isn’t that bad. I know in the previous Christmas days they actually had some pretty decent food.” He patted her hand, “Like overcooked and dry turkey with stale bread. It was _delicious_.”

They both laughed before she leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek, “I do remember Etta saying something about how food tastes better when you’re in good company.”

Steve nodded, “Wise woman, that one is.”

“Wise woman indeed.” She replied as they both got up and made their way to the mess kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So one side note is that there were a lot of cities cut off from allied forces during the battle of the bulge. Most famously Bastogne, but these cities were vital because it allowed a place for the wounded to be placed away from the harsh elements of the German winter. 
> 
> Secondly, I recommend everyone watch the youtube shorts of the Christmas truce from WWI, it's a pretty inspiring story about peace. Even if it was for one day.
> 
> And while there were not Christmas truce like WWI, there were still little miracles that happened along the way.
> 
> One incident https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nYN49Tcglo& (a small Christmas truce) the kid in this short tried to find both sides after the war. But could never find them. It was only after this story was put on Unsolved Mysteries in 1995 that a man who had watched the show had realized that the story was about him and his squad (US side). They managed a small reunion, but unfortunately no one on the German side could be found.
> 
> Another incident, a year prior in 1943 was when a B-17 bomber was severely damaged and most of their crew was injured or dead, a German fighter pilot, instead of shooting them down, escorted them out of German held territories (the markings on his fighter's wings guaranteed that the AA guns wouldn't fire upon them). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Brown_and_Franz_Stigler_incident


	29. 1944: Battle of the Bulge 5

_December 26, 1944_

_Elsenborn Ridge_

 

“I swear you’re in the hospital a lot more now that Diana has shown up.” Winters dryly stated as he saluted Steve.

“Well, at least it isn’t for long stretches.” He replied back smartly.

They both smiled at each other before Winters held out his hand, “Glad to see you back.”

“Glad to be back, sir.” Steve responded shaking his hand.

Winters motioned for Steve to follow him, “I’ll try to keep this short since you missed the briefing. The past week we were lucky that nothing big happened. But that’s about to change. Patton and his 3rd army just broke through to Bastogne. And reports have confirmed that other units from the 11th, 87th, 29th, 9th Armored, 2nd, 3rd, 82nd Airborne, 75th, 106th, and 30th divisions have all pushed back the German forces. The British 30th, 53rd, and the 6th Airborne divisions have also come help us push the Germans back.”

Winters pointed at the map that was full of markings, “It is safe to say that the Germans have ended their assault at 10 days. And it’s our turn to turn the tables on them.”

Steve frowned, “10 days? That’s a lot faster than I expected.”

Winters nodded, “Yeah, I’ve got a gut feeling that this was Hitler’s last gamble. I think the war may be over sooner than later.”

He pointed towards the map, “The entire 12th Army Group is pushing towards the city of Saint Vith from all sides.”

Steve remarked, “Isn’t that where we started before the Germans attacked?”

“Yeah, I think the higher ups want to retake it just for pride’s sake.” Winters looked up at Steve, “We’ll be moving fast, and if intelligence is right. Resistance in the towns and cities we’ll be assaulting should be relatively light in comparison to everywhere else. We’ll be dealing with the German 15th Army. Whereas down south, they'll be facing the 1st and 7th German Army as well as the 5th Panzer Army.”

“Guess that’s a good of a gift as any.” Steve said as he saluted.

“Yes, it is.” Winters said as he dismissed Steve. “Oh, one last thing. We’ll finally be getting reinforcements. They’ll be completely green, but we’ll be back to full strength.”

Steve nodded and left to rejoin his company.

He quickly found Diana sitting a foxhole, zoned out and looking out into the distant forest.

“Hey! Mind if you scoot over a bit so I can join?” He said playfully.

She looked startled for a second before softly smiling and moving over so that he could join her in the hole.

“What’s on your mind?” He said softly as he lay his rifle against the dirt wall.

“I was thinking about my father, and my half brothers and sisters.” She answered back.

“What about them?” He replied.

“Just that if what you said is true, then I’ll never be able to see them… It was one thing to believe they were all dead, to know that they are alive and that I’ll never meet them is another.”

“Well, speaking from experience, it’s better to know that they are alive rather than dead or having never existed.” Steve said wistfully, “And you never know. They may make an exception for you. I mean, you are a demi-goddess, and I think interacting with you is a loophole around their own promise of never interfering with mankind.”

“And what about what my father said? That each time they interfered with mankind something terrible would spring out from the consequences of their actions. And what if with my intervention in this war, something terrible comes out from my actions. Maybe I should’ve stayed out of this war.” She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Hey, now. Not to sound rude or anything, but your dad sounded a bit pretentious. I mean, we are responsible for our own lives and actions. Plus, if you never intervened, we may have never been able to meet the first time or the second time around.” Steve answered back while putting his arm around her shoulders.

Diana leaned into his body and nodded, “I suppose so.” She sighed deeply, “I wish this war would end. They say that the war has changed, but it’s still the same to me. The old wage the wars, and the young die in them. The only thing that is different is that there are more dead this time around.”

“If it makes you feel better, Major Winters and I believe the war is going to be over soon.” He pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head, “You’ve done enough for us anyways. If you want to stay back for the remainder of this fight, no one’s gonna stop you.”

She smiled before murmuring softly, “You smell bad.”

“Hey! You don’t smell any better.” He replied indignantly before wrapping his other arm around her and pulling her in tighter.

She struggled half heartedly against his embrace before laughing and wrapping her arms around him.

They heard a cough and someone clear their throat “Sir.”

Steve looked at Diana with a half-annoyed expression before letting go and turning to face the offender. “Yeah Compton?”

“Sorry for disturbing you sir, but I’d like to report that the replacements have arrived as well as a replacement lieutenant. Also lieutenants Lipton, Nixon, and Welsh have returned back from the aid station.”

Steve nodded, “Alright, you’re dismissed.”

Compton saluted and jogged away.

Steve turned back to Diana, “I’ll be back in a bit. Got to situate the newcomers.”

She nodded and kissed him on the side of his lips, “I’ll be waiting.”

* * *

Nothing was as easy as it seemed, even with the German Army having lost the steam of their initial blitzkrieg, they still fought tooth and nail in repelling back the allied forces.

For their own part, the US had recovered from the initial pushback and began to push back in earnest. In a course of over a few weeks, the allied forces had managed to push all the way to the border of Belgium and Germany.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union was closing in fast on the border of Germany and Austria on the opposite side. With over 2.5 million men they had marched through Warsaw and through Budapest outnumbering the German army 6 to 1.

It was beginning to look quite clear for both sides of the war, the grip that Germany had over Europe was finally over. There would be no more offensives mounted by the German army, surrounded on all sides, it was only a matter of time before the war would be over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Battle of the Bulge would be the last offensive push made by the German Army. From here on out, they would be fighting defensively and retreating. 
> 
> Some would say it was the turning point in the war, but in my opinion, it was probably over when they attacked Russia. But it was definitely over when the US entered the war.
> 
> At the height of the German Army, they had over 15 million soldiers in total that served. The height of their army (1943) was around 6.3 million soldiers. At the end of the war, they had 1.5 million soldiers that surrendered. And even then, with thos 1.5 million soldiers, it was estimated that around 800,000 (or more than half) were children, teenagers, and elderly folk. Who honestly didn't want to fight the US/UK but the Russians (due to the rumors of them raping and pillaging along the way, which was unfortunately true).
> 
> The Soviets had the largest army in the war with over 33 million soldiers (granted over 29 million of them were conscripted men and women aged 18-35 who had little military training). They had roughly 4.8 million soldiers "real" soldiers serve. And by the end of the war they had roughly 11.3 million soldiers. 
> 
> But the US had the second largest army in the war. If you were curious about the surge in soldiers: 1939: 334,000 (total); 1940: 458,365; 1941: 1.8 Million (Pearl Harbor), 1942: 3.9 Million, 1943: 9.1 Million, 1944: 11.6 Million, 1945: 12.2 Million
> 
> Combined with the 3.5 million soldiers the British Army had, it was a foregone conclusion that the war would be won for the Allies by just pure numerical advantage. You had the #1 and #2 biggest army fighting against the #3 army.


	30. 1945: Operation Grenade 1

_ February 8, 1945 _

_ Roer River _

 

Even though they had arrived two weeks prior to the city of Neuss, they were unable to move further into Germany due to the fact that the German Army had blown up the majority of the bridges as well as the dams upstream of the Roer River, leading to temporary stalemate. 

With the allied advance stalled, the allied army began to fortify the cities west of the Roer River, in preparation to cross into the heart of Germany. 

Steve looked out from the building, just a few hundred yards away lay the German Army. But neither side had made a move against one another. 

Diana peered out of the window, “Why haven’t they done anything? It’s been a a few weeks and all they’ve done is stare at us?” 

“I think this late in the war, I don’t think they want to do anything stupid. The writing's on the wall. They’re probably thinking what’s the best way to lose peacefully.” Steve replied as he moved away from the window. “And we’re probably thinking of a way to cross it without suffering too many casualties.” 

He paused for a second, “At least, that’s what I hope.” He gestured for Diana to come with him, “Let’s go grab a cup of coffee?” 

She nodded in agreement as they both stepped out of the building and into the quiet streets. 

“If it weren’t for rare mortar fire, I’d think the war over.” Diana quipped as they walked in close proximity of the buildings.

“Well it’s certainly nearing the end of it. Reports tell us that our friends over in Russia are already in Germany, in a city called  _ Kostrzyn _ . And if I read the map correctly, that makes them 50 miles away from Berlin.” He sighed wistfully, “Hopefully the Russians can end this war sooner than later.” 

They made their way in the tent splitting off, Diana to grab a table and Steve grabbing the coffee. He took two large cups and filled them to the brim with coffee. Grabbing a handful of sugar packets, he made his way to where Diana was sitting. 

“And according to Winters, division wants to make a move sooner than later, just depends on when the river recedes.” He sipped slowly on the hot coffee adding, “You know, we never got to enjoy a time when there were no more wars to fight. I’d like to think it’s something like this.” The other words left unspoken as he looked down into his cup. 

“Well, given that you’re like  _ Achilles,  _ we’ll be able to have all the time in the world once this is done.” Diana said while smirking. 

She dropped in another two packets of sugar into her coffee and took a sip, sighing at her predicament, she muttered out loud, “I can’t seem to make this taste good.” 

“Not supposed to be good.” He replied with a loud sip. “I know you really don’t have much experience with this just yet, but how do you deal with the fact that everyone around us will age?” 

She pursed her lips, thinking for a few minutes before replying, “I don’t know. Back in Themyscira, we aged slowly. But here, human lives are over so quickly. It’s part of the reason I couldn’t stay in London with Etta. In the back of my mind, I knew that they would be gone someday, and having just lost you, it was too much to bear.” 

She added, “But, even then, I couldn’t completely separate myself from them. They are still friends of ours and they need us as much as we need them.” Diana paused, “Does that help?”

Steve nodded, “It briefly went through my head to let my family continue believing that I died back in 1918. But you’re right, I think they’d be happier knowing that I lived. And even if I lose them in the end, that goes with life, and I want them back in my life anyways.” 

Diana smiled, “I always did want to see the Trevor household and where you grew up.” 

“Well if my hazy memory is correct, it wasn’t much. Odessa definitely wasn’t as interesting as Los Angeles.” He smiled at the thought, “Though my family definitely made up for it.”

“I think you’d get along with my sisters. And my brother, he was only 5 when I left. He’d be 33 right now. Older than me technically speaking.” He suddenly frowned, “ And he could be in this war too.” 

Worry began to creep up his back, “I have to find out if he’s over here or not.” 

Diana placed her hand on his arm and nodded, “We’ll find him.” 

She had soon explained that Etta still knew the Trevor family, and that she could ask around to see if Steve’s brother had been sucked into the war. So there was nothing much he could do, except wait for Diana’s letter to be sent out and delivered. 

He had spent the better part of the day sick from worry. It wouldn’t have surprised him to have his brother volunteer like he had (and twice at it). But the horrors that he had seen, it was something he knew would scar him for the rest of his life. The only reason he had made it this far was because he always had something on his mind, to distract him of what he had seen. He didn’t wish anyone to have seen what he had experienced, especially his little brother. 

In the end, Diana had managed to soothe his worries, at least temporarily. Steve’s brother was his own man, he wasn’t five anymore, he didn’t need his protection anymore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point in time, the Soviets had pushed into Germany (now territories of Poland) and the end seemed quite near. Unfortunately, the resistance going forward was extremely fierce. 
> 
> At the same time, Hitler had ordered that he would not allow any of his men to retreat anymore. 
> 
> There were two operations occurring during this time, Operation Grenade (from the South) and Operation Veritable (from the North). The South was mainly the US 9th Army (Operation Grenade). And the North was the British 2nd Army, First Canadian Army, and the British XXX Corps. 
> 
> Unfortunately, because of the positioning of the Roer river and the subsequent sabotage of the bridges and dams, Operation Grenade was postponed for another 2 weeks until the water receded low enough to cross.
> 
> However, Operation Veritable was still a go, and they managed to meet the bulk of the German Army going through some of the hardest battles for the British and Canadian forces. (They had left the south lightly guarded because they had hoped the river would slow or stop any advance)
> 
> To give you a hint on how tough the resistance was for Veritable, even with the 2 week delay of the US 9th Army due to the flooded river they still beat the British/Canadian forces to the Rhine by 3 days.


	31. 1945: Operation Grenade 2

_February 23, 1945_

_Roer River_

 

Steve had saw the current of the river slowly ebb, and knew this day was coming. A part of him had hoped that the Russians east of them would’ve made some progress after moving so quickly through Poland. But it had seemed that the resistance was fierce now that the Red Army was at the doorstep of Germany. They hadn’t made any new ground in the two weeks it took for the river to calm.

The plan of action was for the Rangers and for a select few infantry battalions to cross the river in these small, rubber boats that could fit maybe 14 or 15 guys and then to secure the edge of the city closest to the river. Engineers would shortly follow after it was secure and create the makeshift drawbridges for the bulk of the infantry to cross.

And if everything went according to plan, the sturdier bridges would be put down in a few hours, allowing for the tanks to cross.

The nice thing though was that since the tanks and artillery had two weeks of practice shelling the city opposite of them, they would have accurate artillery fire and would be able to move under their own allied shelling without fear of being hit.

At 0500 hours, the cannons opened up on the resting army. Five minutes into the shelling, they were given the order to cross in the boats, it only took them 10 minutes to cross the river.

It almost went off perfectly, if not for the clumsiness of a few soldiers capsizing a few boats. Thankfully no one had died because of it. Steve and his company made it the opposite shoreline unscathed and mostly dry.

They were to stay there shielded by the river bank and wait until 0530. At which time the cannons would go quiet, and they would be able to move into the city.

He looked at his watch, 5:25, in five more minutes it would be time to go back to war. Scanning the riverbank, he saw that the plan might actually work, as all of the soldiers had arrived unscathed and the last wave of soldiers in the boats were about to dock.

At 0530 the guns had finally quieted, they charged up the bank and into the nearby buildings expecting resistance. But none was found.

Diana looked to Steve and murmured, “These buildings have been long abandoned.”

“Looks like the entire area was abandoned a while ago.” He replied as he signaled to his men to spread out. “Doesn’t mean that they aren’t deeper in town though.”

As it stood, they had covered ground quickly, and in a matter of minutes nearly every battalion that had crossed had given the all clear signal for the engineers to start crafting the bridges.

Diana looked out at the city, she had imagined, in her mind, what was once a vibrant city full of life was now a smoldering ruin. The American artillery had done its work and had done it too well.

She focused her attention back at the situation in hand and noticed the new soldiers from Steve’s company moving quickly through the streets and jumped out in front of them to warn them, “You’re moving too fast. You need to stay closer to the rest of the company.”

And it was not a moment too soon as the German army opened fire on everyone. She raised her shield in response and deflected the incoming firestorm before motioning to the soldiers nearby to find cover. She heard Steve yell out orders, but it was drowned out by the familiar sound of a whistling teapot before she was swept off of her feet.

* * *

It was like everything around him was in slow motion. He saw something move in a building in front of him and he had squinted his eyes to get a better look, when he heard the sound of the loud zipper and fast burp of a machine gun.

He saw a platoon of men from a different unit get mowed down in front of him before he shook himself out of his stupor.

He began yelling out orders for his company to get in the buildings for cover, when he saw Diana being blown back from an explosion. He took two steps toward her before feeling someone roughly grabbing his pack and yanking him into cover.

Turning to face the soldier he screamed, “What are you doing?”

Compton released his hold and screamed back, “You go down, we all go down!”

Steve turned to look at Diana, who lay there unmoving, and glanced in front of him. There was withering gunfire coming towards his position, and any sane man would’ve wanted to stay put behind cover. But sanity went out the door when Diana was involved.

He yelled out, “I want fire superiority right now! I don’t care if they don’t see anything, I want them to shoot the buildings in front of us! Relay that message to all platoon commanders!”

The moment Compton had left his side, he pulled up his rifle and squeezed a few shots into the building that he suspected had enemies, and then dashed towards where Diana lay.

He had almost made it to her when he felt something hit him in his left arm. It felt like someone took a sledgehammer and swung it as hard as they could.The force of the impact was so large that it turned his upper body in a different direction.

But he remained on his feet and moved forward a few steps before stumbling forward and falling to the ground. He went to push himself up before quickly realizing that his left arm wasn’t responding to his brain. He looked down to see a hole in his bicep, with blood gushing out of the wound.

He reasoned to himself that if he couldn’t get up, then he’d roll. So he lay back onto the ground and started to roll towards her when he felt someone grab his good arm and yank him into a standing position. It was Diana with a look of concern on her face, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just got the wind knocked out of me. Are you alright?” He answered back as he was lain gently against a wall.

“I’m not the one who’s bleeding. That was quite foolish of you to do.” She looked around to make sure that no one was looking, “Even if you can’t die from these wounds. It was still foolish for you to run from safety to me.”

He smirked at her, “Love makes you do stupid things.”

It didn’t lessen her anger at his actions, but it did reaffirm to her what kind of man Steve was. Foolish, brave, idiotic, sacrificial, and most importantly, a loving person. She carefully examined his arm and looked him in the eye, “You should get McCoy to look at it still. And,” she added rather sternly, “I expect you to stay there while we clear the rest of the city.”

“Yes ma’am” he replied sarcastically and saluted with his good arm. “Be safe out there.”

He looked around for a nearby soldier, “Get Lipton and McCoy up here.” The soldier nodded and turned to leave, “And a radio!”

Diana took off towards the action as he sighed and looked at his bloody arm, “Comeon heal faster.”

It only took a few minutes, but sure enough Lipton and McCoy had arrived and with a radio in hand.

McCoy sighed out loud, “Jesus, Steve, that looks terrible.”

“Shut it Bones. Lipton, I want 1st, 2nd, and 3rd platoons to start clearing these buildings in teams of 3. I need you to find good vantage points and spot the fall of these mortar rounds. We need to figure out where their mortars are located. And when you find them, radio in their positions so we can blast them to hell.” Steve grimaced as McCoy tightened the tourniquet.

“I want weapons platoon to set up a perimeter around that burned out theater across the street, it should have a good angle on the major crossroads.” Steve nodded at Lipton, “Inform all other platoon leads of what I just said. You have the ball for now. Get it done.”

“Yes, sir.” Was all Lipton replied as he ran towards his platoon.

McCoy spoke up, “Damn it Steve, this looks really bad.”

“I’ll be fine. Just wrap it tight, we need to get moving.” Steve replied impatiently.

“I’m serious, you need to go back to aid station.” McCoy shook his head, “No way. You have two damn holes in your arm. You need to go back.”

“Well, if you’re right next to me, I’m sure you’ll be able to monitor me better.” He smiled through the pain at McCoy, “Cross my heart, if it worsens we can turn around and leave.”

McCoy threw up his arms and just nodded his head. “Let’s go before I change my mind.” He stopped for a second and added, “If anything happens to you, I’m telling Diana it was all you.”

Steve just nodded to him quickly and peered around the corner. The fighting had moved further in the streets, and even with the ambush, it was easy to see that the German army wasn’t fighting as hard as it once did only a few months prior.

* * *

Diana was flying through the warzone, her hair whipping wildly behind her and her lasso shining brightly in the early morning. She began busting through broken walls and windows, subduing the enemy wherever she went.

It didn’t take her long to push through the city, in the end, most of the forces surrendered rather quickly. She was making her way back to the aid station, when she noticed something wrong, something _very_ _wrong._

Out in the open, with not a care in the world and with a smile on its face, was a certain man that she had told specifically to go back to an aid station.

She landed in front of him with a frown.

“Diana! Back in time, division wants us to keep moving forward to the Rhine river. What with the river flooding setting us back two weeks, they don’t want us to be late for the second part of the operation.” He said as he fixed the sling around his neck.

“You should be resting.” She said in a warning tone.

“It’s just a scratch.” Steve replied with a smile on his face.

McCoy rolled his eyes at his comment before speaking up, “He’ll be fine. If his body is anything like his skull, it’s tougher than a two dollar steak.”

“Thanks Bones.” Steve said as he patted Bones shoulder with his good arm, “See? The good doctor said it’s ok. So let’s not tally here.”

McCoy shared a look with Diana _stubborn idiot._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The US Ninth Army managed to capture over 29,000 prisoners in this battle. 
> 
> In comparison with Operation Veritable, this was a relatively small battle. As the main Allied forces up north had managed to capture nearly 10x the amount of prisoners (nearly 290,000 men). 
> 
> At this point, the German Army is decimated. There are still a few hundred thousand soldiers (roughly 350,000-400,000) left in the Western front, the rest are committed to fighting the Russians so close to their capital city. 
> 
> Operation Veritable would be the last large conflict for the Western Allied forces. From here on out, the battles are more subdued and are more like guerrilla warfare than open combat.


	32. 1945: Operation Flashpoint 1

_March 28, 1945_

_Ruhr Valley_

 

Steve began to finally relax. Their push into Germany and across the Rhine was one of the luckiest breaks in all of the war. For the first two weeks of March, allied forces went about securing the west side of the Rhine river, in preparation for a long siege and eventual river crossing. But for all the sabotage the Germans had tried, in flooding the dams, creating roadblocks, and destroying bridges. They had forgotten one bridge in the small town of Remagen.

Apparently the bridge was built during WWI for use of transporting supplies to the front. But, now it was used to spearhead the allied invasion into Germany. It had taken them two weeks to cross the Roer river, and everyone thought that the much bigger Rhine river would take as long or longer. To have crossed it in one day was a surprise to everyone.

According to the captured prisoners, they were told it was scheduled for demolition that day but they had crossed through in the nick of time and stopped the demolition from happening.

And the enemy's misfortune proved to be the allies luck. And to compound on this luck, the Russians over on the east side of Germany had crossed the Oder River, which meant that they were only 30 miles away from Berlin.

It was funny that for all the rush that the allies were in earlier, it seemed like everything now was moving at a snail’s pace. He assumed it was because there was no way the US and UK forces would ever make it to Berlin, which was over 300 miles away, so they were waiting for the Soviets to finish the war for them.

No one wanted to take risks now, even with the capture of the bridge in Remagen, they had waited patiently over a week and a half before finally moving into the Ruhr valley. Where apparently the last of the German forces waited.

Diana marveled at the sight in front of her, “This is a beautiful valley.”

Steve nodded,  “Untouched by war. It’s nice to see trees not exploding.”

Diana shook her head in exasperation, “This was a lovely moment.”

He scoffed, “Well, here’s to hoping the valley stays beautiful.”

She scanned the area, “So this is where the Germans have made their last stand?”

“Yep, apparently Patton captured over 68,000 soldiers just a week ago and it was done with minimal fighting once the Germans realized they crossed the Rhine. The captured said that almost all of the remaining German forces were told to regroup here.” He sighed out loud, “Apparently they’ve got around 450,000 or so soldiers just waiting for us.”

It took only a few days for the allies to completely surround the valley, creating what was known as the Ruhr Pocket. Even with almost half a million soldiers in the valley, nearly 4 million allied soldiers now sat waiting for someone to make the first move.

The Germans had made small, but futile attempts in trying to break east and towards Berlin, but the staggering amount of soldiers and fortifications made it near impossible for them to have any success.

* * *

_April 4, 1945_

_Ruhr Pocket_

 

Fighting was extremely sporadic, and while they suffered casualties on both sides. It was mainly from the artillery rather than from their rifles.

The once pristine valley was now muddled with large holes in the ground, destroyed trees, and barren fields.

One thing Diana had noticed quickly was that the bulk of the men they faced were former veterans of WWI or Hitler Youth units, with boys no older than 12. They had surrendered rather quickly, rather than fight.

But the ones that stood determined were the SS units. She had learned quickly that if you defeated the ones in the black uniforms, the rest would soon surrender. So when she flew into battle, she knew exactly where to go and who to attack.

And as they moved deeper into the valley, they were less and less willing to fight.

The day turned to night and Steve went to congratulate Diana, “We captured around 500 soldiers today. In large part because of you.”

“They weren’t really soldiers. Just old men and children.” She said as she hooked her shield on her back and put the lasso back on her hip.

“We got reports that thousands more have surrendered all over the place. Without putting up much of a fight as well.” He said with a smile on his face. A day with no casualties after a battle was a good day.

“Intelligence is saying that most of the resistance is more or less what we faced today. So hopefully everyone gets to go home sooner than later.” Steve walked up to put an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll be able to leave soon enough.”

Diana smiled, “I look forward to the day when there are no more wars to fight.” She leaned into his embrace, “And to see them with you.”

“You’ve gone full romantic on me haven’t you.” He chuckled, “Who knew Wonder Woman would have such a soft spot.”

She playfully slapped his chest, “Don’t make fun of me.”

“Me? I would never dare make fun of you.” He joked back. “Anyways, I have to get going, make sure everyone has their heads hunkered down. Even though the enemy’s giving up, there are still snipers out there.”

She kissed him lightly on the lips, “Take care, my captain.”

“Will do.” He said as he leaned in for another kiss.

“SIR!” They both heard as he quickly retreated from her embrace.

“Rudder is calling in all company commanders to HQ.” The soldier said as he saluted.

Steve nodded with a frown on his face, “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Don’t know, but it’s the highest priority. I have to go to notify the other company commanders.” He replied as he rushed off to complete his task.

Steve turned to Diana, “Something doesn’t feel right. We don’t hold briefings at night unless something big is coming.”

“Should I come along?” She asked as she saw the worry in his face.

“No, it’s probably best that I hear it first.” Steve said as he took off towards the direction of the headquarters.

* * *

The briefing didn’t take long, and he had no idea how to react. Sure there were good guys and bad guys in war for propaganda purposes. But there was a blurry line when it came down to who was fighting for the right reasons and those who fought for the wrong reasons.

But now, history would be changed, the Nazis had made themselves the clear bad guy in this war.

Rudder had just debriefed everyone of a discovery of a forced labor camp, something they were dubbing a concentration camp. At first sight, it seemed like these were maybe prisoners of war or resistance members. But a dozen men had emerged from the camp to give them their story. They were bankers, farmers, merchants, tradesmen of all sorts, and much more.

They had been severely mistreated and executed in droves when the Americans had apparently gotten close to the camp.

Apparently the mass deaths wasn’t something new, those US troops had found a few thousand dead bodies in a mass grave just a short distance away from the camp.

All divisions were put on alert that evening, after the reports had been verified, any new camps that were discovered had to be treated with the utmost of care for the sake of any of the surviving prisoners. Apparently, due to the severe lack of water and food, they were told that if they were to feed any of the malnourished prisoners, that they could, for better lack of a medical term, eat themselves to death.

Doctors were apparently being rushed to the front lines in order to help treat any new camps that would be discovered. Apparently there were plenty more, and the Russians had uncovered multiple camps, with one large one that housed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Auschwitz.

* * *

He left the command tent with a heavy heart.

Diana had noticed immediately.

“What’s wrong?” She spoke delicately as he sat down next to her.

He shook his head, trying to find the right words to tell her, “Apparently some labor camps were found today at Ohrdruf just south of us.”

Her brow furrowed as he continued, “Thousands dead. And they weren’t soldiers, they were just normal people, trying to escape the war. And we were too late to do anything. Apparently the Nazis went and killed all of them, well tried to at least, when they heard that we were coming into town.”

“Were there children there?” She asked with a low tone.

“None that they saw, it was just a forced labor camp.” He sighed, “Though I wouldn’t put it past them to have a camp like this for women and children.”

She suddenly remembered earlier in the war the disappearances from the French countryside. “No.” She whispered out.

It was Steve’s turn to look confused as he looked at her, “You okay?”

She didn’t move a muscle except to mumble out, “There were people disappearing earlier in the war that I had noticed, but I chose not to do anything. I was curious about it, but had no time to investigate it myself. If I had known…” She clenched her fists tightly, “I could’ve done something about this.”

“Don’t blame yourself for this. You couldn’t have known.” He said as he grabbed her balled up fists.

“No, you don’t understand. I let them be captured, because I was too selfish.” Her eyes started to water, “I was supposed to protect mankind and the innocent. And I’ve strayed away from my purpose.”

“Diana. Stop it.” He grabbed her face so that she could stare into his eyes, “You’ve done more than enough to make up for _any_ inaction that you had in the war. Don’t blame yourself for this, blame the enemy for having the gall to do something so inhumane. You can still help right this wrong.”

She nodded, “They will pay for this.”

“They will, don’t worry about that, love. And when this war is over, they’ll have much more to make up for.” He pulled her in for a huge and felt her breath tickle his neck, “We’ll get them all, all of them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a few things, the Auschwitz camps were liberated in January 27, 1945. So the question was why was this fresh news for the UK/US troops? 
> 
> The answer was that it had seemed commonplace in the eastern front to see these camps. 
> 
> The Eastern front was notorious (for both sides) of the inhumane treatment of people. Yes, the Germans started it, pillaging and raping their way to Russia. But the Red Army would do the same all the way to Berlin (and yes, raping and pillaging their own cities and countries).
> 
> The Russians had over 3 million German PoWs and historians believe that up to 1 million died in prison camps. Even though the official numbers was 356,700 they did not include the missing prisoners, that numbered over 700,000. 
> 
> But, the Germans had 5.7 million Russian PoWs, and the official count is 3.3 million Soviet PoWs dead, including a few hundred thousand missing. 
> 
> So both sides were notoriously atrocious to each other. That's why even with the discovery of Aushwitz, the Red Army had just continued like it was just another camp. Also there was still antisemitism in the Russian ranks, so they wanted to minimize the attention to the Jewish suffering. 
> 
> So they had seen no need to tell the allies of what they had seen. 
> 
> As for the German forces in the Ruhr pocket, this was the last stand for all Western front German soldiers, not of the entire German Army. In Berlin and the Eastern front, there were still around 1.1 million soldiers defending it.


	33. 1945: Operation Flashpoint 2

_April 18, 1945_

_Ruhr Pocket_

 

Diana had fought with a possessed energy and had shown little to no mercy to opposing soldiers and civilians. In her mind, they were all guilty, how could they not know what was happening underneath their noses?

She had treated the townspeople with contempt and reveled in the fact that they were forced to see the atrocities their government had committed.

Steve had noticed the change in her attitude, and honestly, he wasn’t too opposed to her newfound anger. But, it did worry him a little. She had changed, and not for the better. Rage was dictating her actions, and a person with godly powers that was also enraged did not fare well for the enemy soldiers, even if some of them deserved it.

There was also the fact that throughout the war, she had avoided killing as much as possible, and he supposed broken bones and concussions were better than dying. But the past two weeks, she had abandoned that principle and killed without hesitation. But how could he say anything? He had done the same and had killed more throughout the war than she had in the past few weeks.

But it still wasn’t pretty, and it felt wrong to him for her to kill, but that was just his opinion.

* * *

The entire division was standing at attention. The improbable just happened. German Army Group B had formally surrendered, effectively ending the Western front. There were nearly 325,000 soldiers that had surrendered that day. And another 70,000 would surrender shortly after being overrun in the Harz Mountains.

At this point, the only soldiers left fighting west of Berlin were the fanatics and the extremists.  And while they would be tough to root out, they would be easily defeated by the Allies overwhelming numbers.

Steve had heard of these holdouts and last stands, but it wasn’t much. With the worst happening at a city called Heilbronn, where the 100th infantry division lost 85 men and three times that wounded. But had come out victorious and with over 1,500 prisoners.

Regardless, the invasion was going on smoothly and quickly ever since the surrender. What once took weeks and even months to travel, they did in days. And with no resistance, it was more akin to driving down a heavily trafficked highway than a mass invasion.

And though the war wasn’t officially over, as there were still small pockets of resistance that they continued to face on their way to Berlin, most of the men had started to relax. Many had acted like the war was over, with their helmets off, singing loudly, and getting drunk off of looted alcohol.

He had wanted to celebrate with everyone, but Diana was still in a dark mood, and he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy the moment until she was back to her normal self.

According to Rudder, with the main resistance west of Berlin gone, most of the US Armies had moved south, towards Austria to meet up with forces from Italy and to capture the last country under Nazi rule.

However, they were tasked with heading towards Berlin, and hopefully meeting up with the Russian forces, that had apparently encircled Berlin and were slowly moving into the city.

So with no enemies, and a whole lot of walking (and riding) in front of them, it was up to Steve to get her out of this funk. Unfortunately he had been unsuccessful so far, and with the addition of new camps that were being discovered, especially an extremely large one in Buchenwald, her mood had sunk even lower.

* * *

Diana spoke up after what felt like hours of silence, “It’s hard to not blame myself for this.”

Steve stopped in his tracks and looked over at her, “Just because you have powers doesn’t mean you can do everything. You can’t be everywhere all at once.” He thought over his next few words, “Wallowing in the past of what you could’ve done isn’t going to help you move forward. We all make mistakes, but those mistakes don’t define us. What we do next is how our legacies are shaped.”

He took a deep breath, “If you’re looking for forgiveness from your inaction, I’m pretty sure those camp survivors would happily give it to you. But you also have to forgive yourself, and start acting in line with your own morals and values.” He had said what had needed to be said. Now it was for Diana to either take his advice or ignore it completely.

Diana stood quiet and answered, “For someone who is hundreds of years younger than me, sometimes it does surprise me with how much wisdom you have.”

She exhaled lightly, "You’re right, you know.” She paused, “About this, and what you said the night that you died. It’s not about what we deserve, it’s about what we believe. I lost myself these past few weeks, and it’s time I found myself again.”

They walked in silence with a new air about them. She had felt the weight of her perceived sins lessened, and while it was still heavy, it was tolerable now.

* * *

_April 28, 1945_

_Torgau, Germany_

 

Steve looked out towards the Elbe river. They were only 80 miles away from Berlin, but that didn’t matter. The war was going to be over soon. The Red Army had finally met up with the US Army, thus completing the land invasion of Germany sans Berlin. German Army Group C, in charge of the defense of Italy and the Mediterranean had finally surrendered. And apparently Mussolini had been found and executed earlier that morning.

The Allied forces in Italy were now moving up to Austria to meet up with the bulk of the US forces that were already in the country. With Austria being attacked from both the North and the South, it was only a matter of time before that country fell, and with it, the end of any significant German army.

Of course, if Hitler surrendered before then, then all the bloodshed could be avoided. But who knew what would happen first, as the Red Army was having a difficult time advancing through the war torn city.

It was crazy to him that they hadn’t surrendered yet, he read the reports, literally every second of every day they had been constantly shelled. The city should’ve been reduced to rubble, but somehow the Nazis were still standing, and the last two German Army groups were fighting to their last breath. He was busy munching on some food that he had scavenged and too deep in thought to notice Diana until she sat down right beside him.

* * *

Diana looked out a window, marveling at the sight. Her view only available because of the large castle that was re-purposed to be a Nazi headquarters had now turned to the Allied headquarters for the First Army.

It felt like a vacation, staying in a lavish castle and eating good food. Which was ironic because even though the entire German army had been running low on rations, the same couldn’t be said for the officers. There were racks of meats, cheeses, wine, and any other type of treat imaginable in that castle, and a large stockpile as it stood.

She supposed there was a fundamental difference between the Axis and the Allies, instead of hoarding the food for themselves, the first thing the officers did was get the cooks to start cooking up meals for the entire army.

Regardless of the food or room she was in, it had been days since she heard the sounds of war, and she hoped to keep it that way. She enjoyed traveling and seeing the sights. She moved silently to where Steve was by the balcony and laid in a chair beside him.

“You wouldn’t believe what Eisenhower just ordered.” He said as he munched on some cheese and crackers.

“And what did our esteemed general say?” Diana said as she grabbed a cracker from the plate.

“We’re dropping food for some holdouts in the Netherlands.” He chuckled, “Who would’ve thought we would feed the enemy.”

Diana frowned, “But wouldn’t that encourage them to hold out even longer?”

“Yeah. But, I think Eisenhower knows that once Berlin falls and Hitler surrenders or dies, the war will be officially over in short order. And both of those things could be happening in the next week or two.” He grabbed his glass of wine and sipped lightly, “No more need for bloodshed if it can be avoided at this point.”

“What will you do when the war is finally over?” She said as she grabbed the glass from his hand and took a sniff before sipping lightly.

“I dunno. Maybe visit my family and tell them I’m ok. But after that, who knows, I mean, we’re both immortals and we have all the time in the world.” He said with a smile and leaned back in his chair to rest his head. “What will you do?”

Diana looked up into the sky, “Have breakfast, read the paper, and do other mundane things.” She paused for a second, “And get married and have kids.”

She heard him sputter, “Seems like a good plan.”

“I can’t take credit for it, a wise man came up with it.” She answered with a smile.

He lightly cleared his throat, “You know, we’ve been out of combat for awhile. Have you gotten any correspondence from Etta about my brother.” He said trying to avoid the subject.

She shook her head, “I haven’t received anything yet. We have been moving fast, so it could still be trying to catch up with us.”

“Yeah, he’s probably fine.” He sighed, “I wonder how they’ll take it.”

“They’ll be overjoyed to see you alive and well.” She remembered back to when she saw him back at that dreaded beach, “You almost gave me a heart attack when I first laid eyes on you back at the beach.”

“That was something, huh?” He smirked, “I do have that effect on women.”

She rolled her eyes and threw a cracker at him, “How did I fall in love with such an insufferable man?”

“I love you too.” He said sweetly as he stuffed the thrown cracker in his mouth and closed his eyes to listen to the outside world.

Diana was about to retort, but it died in her throat seeing him so relaxed. She shook her head with a smile, and continued to sip on her glass, content with watching the world move around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happening because honestly the war is wrapping up. With Army Group B surrendering, it didn't take long for Army Group C to surrender. Leaving the two major Army Groups in Berlin and one in Austria. 
> 
> Most people don't know about the Mediterranean theater of war as the focus shifted onto France in 1944 and most of the US and UK armies were pulled out. But the Allies still had the US Fifth Army, the British Eighth Army, and a Brazilian task force fighting in the Mediterranean throughout the war. And they numbered around 800,000 men. It is also noted that the US Fifth Army was largely segregated, most notably with African Americans and Japanese Americans. The British Eighth Army was also highly segregated with New Zealanders, Canadians, Indians, Gurkhas, Africans, Moroccans, Algerians, Arabs, and Rhodesians. 
> 
> This was probably not covered as much because of the racial issues, and the fact that this was now the smallest theater of war. It should be remembered that the US Fifth Army had suffered 109,642 casualties and the British Eighth Army suffered 123,254 casualties. 
> 
> Axis casualties numbered around 311,000 with around 300,000 taken prisoner.
> 
> Back in Germany, on April 25, 1945 (called Elbe Day), was when the Russian Army finally met up with the US Army, this was important because both fronts were now connected to one another. 
> 
> And finally in Austria there was a German and Austrian army in Austria (Army Group G) as well as SS divisions, but they numbered less than 70,000 and were spread out throughout the country. And surprisingly some units of Wehrmacht soldiers had begun to turn on their German counterparts. One famous (and I believe the only incident of German and American forces fighting together) was when some Austrian soldiers (part of the Wehrmacht) went to rescue some French prisoners and a small US force helped them defend the camp from SS attackers. 
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Castle_Itter
> 
> Moreover, the allies would air drop food for the German soldiers. But it was phrased to be for the civilians trapped in Holland (in the Netherlands). Over 10,000 tons of food was airdropped by both the British and US airforce. If people didn't know there was a huge Dutch famine going on because of the German occupation.
> 
> Anyways, one last interesting fact, the Soviets fired 500,000 shells in the first 30 minutes into Berlin. To put into comparison, One of the largest battles in WWI The Battle of the Somme fired 1.5 million shells over 4 days, the Soviets did that in 90 minutes. They would end up firing over 2 million shells in the next two weeks. Even so, the Germans still numbered around 766,000 (with around 85,000 of them being children or the elderly ) soldiers against the 2.5 million Soviet soldiers.


	34. 1945: The End of the War

_ May 1, 1945 _

_ Torgau, Germany _

 

The news spread like wildfire, even though the announcement had only been made to officers, every single soldier had found out that Hitler had killed himself. The only reason why it wasn’t official yet was because there was no other confirmation except for the original German radio announcement. 

And while it should’ve been good enough, the top brass believed that Hitler may have been crafty enough to fake his own death to try to escape Berlin. In any case, the Soviets had become emboldened by the news and had moved rapidly through the city and was about to capture the capital building.

There was also reports that the Germans had wanted to negotiate acceptable surrender terms but that Stalin had demanded unconditional surrender. 

So, all-in-all, good news. There wasn’t much for him to do now. The 2nd Rangers had been out of combat ever since they had left the Ruhr pocket. 

* * *

Diana had rushed to find Steve, and seeing him look shell shocked made her gut feel uneasy.

“Steve!” She shouted as she stopped in front of him, “Did you hear the news?”

He blinked a few times and focused on her, “Yeah, Hitler committed suicide. Crazy, huh?” 

Her head jerked back, “What? Really?” 

He frowned, “Yeah, well it’s not confirmed yet, but we’ll find out soon enough. That and the entire German military was trying to surrender, but it was declined, apparently all the allied commanders want an unconditional surrender.” He narrowed his eyes, “What news did you have?”

“Your brother!” She gasped, “He’s well. He joined the air force. Apparently he joined the Royal Air Force to fly for the British before the US entered the war back in 1940. But, he ended up getting transferred to an American unit, and has been with them ever since.” 

He shook his head with a smile, “What a foolish kid.” He took a steadying breath, “Do you know which unit he’s in or where he’s stationed?”

She nodded, her smile slowly fading, “He’s based in Essex.” 

“In England.” He finished for her, his smile dimmed a little, “As long as he’s ok, then I’m fine.” 

This was still probably the best day he’d felt in a long time, he grabbed Diana’s hand, “Let’s go celebrate the good news.” 

Diana gripped his hand and kissed him lightly on the lips. 

* * *

_ May 8, 1945 _

_ Torgau, Germany _

 

It was now official. The entire German Military had surrendered, or what was left of it. It seemed like a hollow surrender as the armies in Berlin and in Austria had surrendered shortly after they had heard news of Hitler’s death on the 2nd. 

The forces in Denmark and the Netherlands shortly followed on the 4th. And on the 6th, the highest remaining Nazi official, Goring, was captured, trying to flee Austria. 

The only German troops left were in unimportant areas and few in number. 

* * *

He walked over to a pier hidden away by the trees and overlooking the lake. He looked around for a comfortable place to sit before he chose to sit underneath one of the nearby trees. 

It didn’t take long for him to see her surface from her swim. He just watched as she glided through the water. He must’ve sat there for at least ten minutes watching her swim when she finally turned her head towards his location. 

Diana slowly made her way back to the pier and watched as Steve walked to meet her halfway. 

“Nice swim?” He asked as he handed her a towel. 

“It was refreshing. You should join me next time.” She replied as she toweled off her body. 

“Yeah, maybe next time.” He waited for Diana to finish drying off her body and saw her wrap it around her hair. 

“The war’s over.” He said nonchalantly. “It’s official, an unconditional surrender as well.” 

Diana froze for a few seconds, and then smiled, “When will we get to go home?” 

He shrugged his shoulders, “The war in Europe is over, but there’s still a war in Japan that’s still going on. The higher ups have been discussing this for awhile. Debating which units they’re going to send over to the Pacific, which units are going to stay here as an occupying force, and which units get to go home.” 

He paused, “Major Winters and a few other Captains have volunteered to go over to the Pacific.” 

Diana grimly nodded, “Are you going to go?” 

“Haven’t made up my mind yet. Part of me says that if I am going, I’d rather get it over with. The other part is that I’ve had enough of war. These past few weeks of relaxing made me remember what peace felt like.” He sighed loudly, “There’s another problem as well.”

“What’s that?” She said as she began to dress herself up.

“There’s a point system in place. Based off medals, battles participated in, days in combat, and other things. And you need 85 points to get discharged to go home.” He said.

“You should have plenty of points acquired then. You’ve been in the war since ‘42 and you’ve been injured twice now.” She replied as she finished putting on the last of her clothes.

“Yeah, I’ve got 104 points, more than enough. And most of the officers do too, except for the newer ones. And the same goes for most of the veterans of the company. But that leaves only the greenhorns left here... Someone’s got to look out for them.” He answered as they began to walk away from the lake.

“So you’re staying?” She questioned. 

Steve paused for a second, “Still thinking about it. The company would be in good hands with Nixon or Lipton. And if we’re chosen to be the occupying force, then there’s no reason for me to be here. But if we’re chosen to go to the Pacific- I’d be letting them down if I didn’t stay.”

She nodded in understanding, “Then we will wait until we know where we’re going.” 

“Thanks for understanding.” He grabbed her hand and kissed her lips. 

She returned the kiss with a smile, “Everything will work itself out.” 

He suddenly stopped walking, and Diana turned to him with a quizzical expression on her face, before he dashed to the edge of the lake and jumped in with a playful yell. 

“We should celebrate.” He said through chattering teeth as he surfaced through the water.

She quickly stripped and followed him with a splash of her own. 

He swam up to her and held her in his arms. “I love you Diana.”   


“I love you too Steve.” She said as she leaned in to kiss him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think I'm going to have two more chapters before it's finally over.
> 
> A bit of history, the surrender that the German army had asked for was to surrender only to the western allies and not the Soviets. Based off their own intelligence, they believed (and were somewhat correct) that surrendering to the Russians was as good as committing suicide. In the end they ended up agreeing to the unconditional surrender when it was promised that they would be treated well by the Russian forces.
> 
> But, the armies in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Austria were close enough to the US and UK forces that they surrendered once Hitler was dead. The two army groups in Berlin surrendered to the Russians. 
> 
> As for the point system. It was called the Advanced Service Rating Score. And few people actually had enough points to actually go home. So for the most part, the soldiers were stuck there.


	35. 1945: Back in England

_ May 15, 1945 _

_ London, England _

 

It wasn’t an easy decision for him to make, but in the end, he decided to cash in his points and head home. It all came down to the fact that, while not official yet, Major Winters had told him that the 2nd Ranger Battalion, as well as the First and Third Army, would be used as an occupation force in Europe. With the 2nd going to govern, or at least be the police force, for Czechoslovakia. 

There would be no more wars to fight for his company, something that he would be grateful for. But most importantly, they would all finally be able to enjoy the peace that they had fought for.

His trip back to England was nerve wracking to him, but Diana had managed to keep him calm, well at least for most of the way. It began to sink in as reality when they deboarded the passenger ship. 

Diana had managed to inform Etta that Steve was  _ back _ and to also grab his brother for their little reunion. 

They sifted through the heavy crowds, that were rife with celebration and joyous sounds and walked down a few familiar streets before he saw the recognizable building that Etta’s flat was in. 

“Here goes nothing.” He muttered under his breath and marched up the stairs to the door with Diana in hand. 

If he was being honest to himself, if it weren’t for Diana by his side, he didn’t know how confident he would be walking up the flight of stairs. Well they knew he was here anyway, no turning back once he got buzzed in. 

Diana took the lead and knocked on the door. They heard Etta’s familiar voice ring out that she’d  _ be there in a second. _ And then it was a waiting game. 

* * *

“STEVE!” cried Etta as she came out to hug the frozen man in front of her door.

He hugged her back speechless. 

Maybe it was the fact that Diana hadn’t aged a bit, but it’d almost be 30 years since he last seen them. They were all in their 30s to mid 30s when they went to fight in the first war. It would make sense that they would look and be much older now.

Etta continued on unperturbed by his silence, “I’ve got the whole gang here including James. So come on now. Let’s not make them wait any longer.”

The pair followed her silently into the living room and saw everyone all gathered around a television. Etta cleared her throat loudly, “Steve’s here!” 

And as one, the group of 4 men turned to face him and Diana.

Their welcomes came in all at once, and he could barely understand what any of them were saying, but the look of relief on their faces made him feel infinitely better about visiting today.

It was good to see them, but it also made him feel uneasy. Not the uneasy feeling of about to be attacked, but about how short human lives were. Age hadn’t treated Charlie or Chief well. But they seemed nonplussed by their seniority.

Sameer still somehow looked the same but with more gray hairs and more wrinkles around his eyes. And Jim, he looked young as hell. But he had their father’s nose and mother’s eyes still. 

Jim walked up to him and sized him up for a second before laughing, “I guess you’re the younger one now?” 

Steve immediately grabbed him and put him in a headlock, “Don’t get too cocky now, I’m still taller than you.” 

“Cut it out you two.” Etta called out as she shook her head, “I’ve not gathered you all here just so that you can wrestle with one another.” 

He let go of Jim’s head and was immediately greeted by a hug, “Nice to see you alive.” Jim said, clapping his back once before letting go.

“Nice to be alive.” Steve answered before he went to greet everyone else.

They all shared what was going on in their lives as Diana silently watched Steve’s reaction. She could tell something was bothering him, it was unexpected because she expected him to just be happy. But she remained silent in her observation.

They had stayed there for a few hours, each one of them telling him about how their lives had moved on since the end of the first war. 

Charlie had married and divorced twice, but had two sons and one daughter, both sons had enlisted into the Royal Scots and had fought in Italy for the war. Steve noticed that he was still a silent man, and more serious now than he used to be, but he did seem happier. 

Chief had one son, who was currently serving as a code talker for the US Marines and was in the Pacific still. But on a happier note, the government had decided to pay his family reparations for their part in destroying their family lands some hundred years ago. And since then, he had found much success and wealth in owning a few businesses in California.

Sameer had children late in his life, both his daughter and son were only 16 years old. His wife was a semi-professional model that was also 15 years his junior. They had met in Paris and had hit it off immediately. Steve had to hide his smirk when he heard the news. He had joked to Sameer that only he would be able to seduce a much younger girl, and a model at it too.

Etta spoke after Sameer, telling in grand detail how she had also finally settled down and had 3 boys, which she playfully joked that she had tried for a daughter each time. But her husband was a lawyer she had met while campaigning for suffrage for women. And apparently she was slated to be a grandmother in the next few months. 

And finally, but not least, his brother had filled him in on what was going with the family, and even though their parents were nearing their 80s, they were still moving around actively and in healthy shape. 

Moreover, he was now an uncle to 7 kids.

“So you’re telling me that all of our siblings got married and had kids, and here you are single, and with only one relationship in your life?” Steve asked sounding genuinely shocked. 

Jim nodded his head, “We had a fight, I wanted to do what you did and fight for what was right. Didn’t seem like the US was going to intervene, just like last time, and so I went and bought a ticket to London and Etta set me up with the RAF... Dad always said that if you saw something wrong, it was up to you to change it. She didn’t agree much with that line of thinking, and so we split.” 

Steve continued on, “And you became a fighter pilot?”

“Just like you. Though I think the Spitfires I ran in were a lot better than the biplanes you rode.” Jim chuckled, “I think those things had like 100 horsepower? The Spitfire has 1,720 horsepower and went as fast as 400 miles per hour. And the P-51… that thing zoomed, I think I went to 500 miles per hour once.” 

Steve whistled, “Definitely a better pilot than me.” 

“And a higher rank.” Jim joked as he nodded towards Steve’s shoulder. 

Steve looked at the silver oak leaves on Jim’s uniform, “Colonel? Would you look at that.” 

“Lieutenant Colonel, but yeah. I was one of the few Americans that fought since 1940, and when the US entered in ‘42, they forcefully commandeered us from our units to lead American pilots. And it all came with higher ranks and higher pay.” Jim answered with a wink. 

Steve smile slowly morphed into a frown, “If you’re top brass, when do you get to leave?” 

Jim sighed, “Not for awhile. I’ve got a lot to do here before I can go, and I can’t throw it off to anybody.” He pushed his fingers through his hair, “Probably not for another few months at the earliest. I’ll probably be home by the end of this year.  But don’t worry about me. I’m plenty safe here in England. Might even find a gal down here and convince her to move back to the US with me.” Jim said with a smirk. 

Steve shook his head with a smile, and noticed as everyone else was standing up and preparing to leave. “I think that’s our cue.” Steve remarked as he stood up. 

Diana had just finished her conversation with Etta and turned to Steve, “It’s getting late. Shall we go to the hotel?” 

He nodded and said his goodbyes, and grabbed their addresses while promising to write to all of them as much as he could. 

And as they all headed out the door, Etta gently touched Steve’s shoulder and motioned with her head for him to stay a little longer, and with a quick glance to Diana, who had a look of understanding, nodded and went back to the living room. 

Etta sat down, “I’ll make this quick, since I don’t want to keep you from Diana. But what are your intentions towards her?”

He sputtered, “What?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, you daft fool. I knew it when I saw the two of you at the clothing store back in 1918, that you two were meant for each other.” She sniffed at the memory, “She was distraught with your passing. More than any of us here, and we’d known you longer.” 

Steve swallowed heavily, “I don’t know. I’m being honest, Etta.”

“Well, I never took you as a coward. What with all the stupid and reckless things that you did. Never made sense to me how you became a spy.” She chided lightly at him. 

“I do want to marry her and have kids, but I don’t know when is a good time. I don’t even know what I’m going to do now that the war is over.” He said, frustrated with himself.

“Well, even if you are immortal now, it doesn’t mean that you should wait years before you ask her to marry you.” She reached over and patted his leg, “Never took you for a fool, so don’t do the foolish thing and wait any longer.”

He nodded and stood up, “Thanks Etta. What would I do without you?” He said chuckling.

“Not much apparently.” She said as she went to give him a hug, “And tell Aletta that she should come back to England. I miss her terribly.”

“Will do, but she never listens to me.” He said as he hugged her tightly.

“We Candy’s are very smart after all.” Etta said as she let him go, “And I will not forgive you if you don’t invite me to the wedding! Now off you go!”

As he exited the flat, he saw Diana standing at the bottom floor of the building and raced down to meet her.

Diana smiled and grabbed his hand, “What did she want to say?”

“Just that our time together was precious and I shouldn’t waste it.” He answered as he kissed her softly on the lips.

“We can stay here longer if you’d like? We don’t have to leave tomorrow.” Diana suggested as they walked out into the starry night.

“No, it’s fine. She’s got her own life now, and I think it’s time that I see my family again.” He said as they walked down the crowded streets to their hotel.

* * *

_ June 21, 1945 _

_ Los Angeles, California _

 

They sat in their hotel room, having just eaten dinner with Aletta. 

Diana spoke up, “What’s been on your mind. You’re making the same face as when you saw Sameer, Chief, and Charlie back in England. And again when you saw your family in Odessa.”

Steve glanced at her, “It’s a weird feeling, not so much with Aletta. But life is moving on for them, and for me it’s kinda stood still. I feel like I’ve been left behind… Is that weird?”

She shook her head vehemently, “No, you had a-” She thought for a second, “A restart in life. Also you’re  _ technically  _ 27 and up until a year ago, you were 27 in mind and body.” 

“Yeah, I suppose. But one thing is for certain.” He said as he waited for her to respond.

“What’s that?” Diana said as she unclasped her bra and took off her stockings.

“Back in 1918, I didn’t think I’d ever find the right person. And I thought it a miracle when I woke up on your lap. And again when I saw you on the beach on Normandy back in ‘44, it’s funny that I had the same thought I did back on the beach in Themyscira. That you were the most beautiful person I’d ever seen in my life. And just like before, even though we had only known each other for a few days, I knew that I loved you, more than anybody I knew, including myself.” He paused.

“I didn't want to say anything because I never expected to make it out the first war. And I shared the same opinion in the second. But now I know it was just me being foolish and cowardly, if I want something, I need to pursue it. So now, with all the time in the world, I’d like to do this one thing, and that’s to ask, will you marry me?” He said as he went to grab the ring he had purchased back in England. 

Diana stood frozen looking at him before screaming with a wide smile on her face, “YES!” 

She jumped into him and gave him a kiss and felt him deepen it. 

She had lost him once, given a second chance, she would never let him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could've been the epilogue. And it kinda is in a sense, as the last chapter is way into the future.
> 
> I was thinking about having a scene with the Trevor family or Aletta, but it just didn't turn out good, so I scrapped it. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks so much for everyone who went through this journey. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did creating it!


	36. Epilogue

_ May 5, 2015 _

_ Paris, France _

 

Steve looked out from his desk in the Louvre. Who would’ve expected that he would be Diana’s secretary, something that was ironic to him, seeing as how when they first met he introduced her as his secretary.

But it didn’t matter, she was more knowledgeable with the finer arts and paintings, and he was content in researching and gathering information for her. It seemed funny that she was the brawns and he was the brains. But he’d do whatever he could to help her. 

They had jumped around in multiple careers, but they had always ended up leaving after 5 or so years, or when the questions started to pop up. And because of that, they both had a collection of talents useful for the changing world they lived in. His talents just happened to be more into software and computer related fields.

It was rare for them to share the same job, but he supposed being her underling was relatively simple, tracking artifacts and making sure that each priceless piece was safely delivered. It was something he could finish in an hour or two, then devote the rest of his time in making sure that their identities were being scrubbed. 

It wasn’t so much for the anonymity, though that was a big reason, but it was mainly for being able to stay out of conflicts. If it was something that he would quickly learn, it was that wars would always be fought, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for pointless reasons. 

They had a discussion that ultimately lead to them staying out of the conflicts, lest the US government want to use her as a weapon, rather than a protector. And then there were also times where he honestly didn’t even trust his own government, it’s part of the reason why they emigrated to Paris. 

But now, someone had been leaving hints that they knew about Diana’s past, fortunately for him, they didn’t have any information or photos on him, so he could still remain in the shadows. 

He had tried everything in the book in trying to figure out who knew Diana’s identity, but nothing came up except for LexCorp. He thought about sending it to Emma, Etta’s great grandchild who happened to work for MI6, or even Chris, Jim’s great grandchild who worked in the CIA. 

The only thing holding him back from doing that was that if it was an executive from LexCorp, then they might have the capabilities to find out that someone was trying to figure their identity out as well, which might compromise more than just Diana, but their little network of people who knew they existed.

He sighed loudly to no one in particular, Diana had snuck into a party hosted by Lex Luthor, under the pretense of looking at some art pieces, and who would decline an administrator at the Louvre who wanted to look at  _ your  _ artwork? 

He didn’t know exactly what she was planning to do, for all of their time spent since the 1940s, she had barely touched anything with technology in it. She was still very  _ old school. _

It would’ve made more sense for him to go, but Diana didn’t want to compromise his safety, so she went instead.

Steve looked at the time, it was just about 12 AM and he needed to lock up. He turned off his computer and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The search would continue another day. 

He had just packed up his briefcase when he felt his phone vibrate. He narrowed his eyes at the screen looking at the caller ID before he picked up the call, “What’s up love?”

“I stole something from Bruce Wayne that might have a key to who knows my identity.” She whispered. 

He frowned, “Bruce Wayne, the eccentric, playboy billionaire, knows you’re an immortal Amazon?” 

“No, he was snooping around Luthor’s house and put some sort of device on the shelf like things.” She answered exasperatedly.

“You mean like a server room? Luthor has a server room in his house?” He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but who needed a personal server at his house? How much data was this guy storing?

“Can you send me photos or a video of the device?” He asked quickly as he started to unpack his things. 

“Let me facetime you.” She whispered back. 

He waited a second, and soon enough he saw that she was in a car. A nice looking car that looked antique and expensive. “Didn’t think that Enterprise rented out antique Aston Martins.”

She rolled her eyes and showed him the drive, “Do you see it?”

“Yeah it’s just a normal hard drive, you’re going to have to plug it into a computer.” She huffed and got out of the car.

“Where are you going?” Steve asked before he saw her get into another nice sports car. “Didn’t think Enterprise-” He was cut off with a shush from Diana.

“You’re going to have to plug it into a computer babe.” He said as he again began to pack up.

“I know. I’ll call you in an hour.” She replied as she hung up.

* * *

Steve looked at the screen, “You’re going to have to allow me remote access controls.” 

She nodded and began listening to his instructions, and after a few minutes he was in, or a more apt description, he was looking at some of the most secure software he’d ever seen.

“There’s no way I can break into this with what we have here. Maybe Emma or Chris can break into it. But they’d probably need to have clearance to use some of the code breaking tech that I’m thinking is needed for this.” He leaned back from his chair before apologizing, “Sorry that I can’t do anything more love.”

“It’s fine. I’ll return it to Bruce.” She said as she turned off the computer and unplugged the drive. “Get some rest, I might be here longer than expected.”

He nodded, “Just stay safe.” 

She kissed the camera before hanging up. 

Well, if she was going to be there for a longer time, then he guessed it wouldn’t hurt for him to take a quick vacation as well. He brought up his email and quickly fired off an email to Paige, an administrator that didn’t hide her affection for both Diana and himself.  _ She wouldn’t mind doing our job for a few days. _

It didn’t take long for him to buy the earliest ticket available. Looking at the time, he had about 5 hours before his flight, meaning he now had 3 and a half hours to pack and get dropped off. It was time to go to Metropolis. 

* * *

He had just arrived in his room and turned on the tv for some white noise when the station switched to an important news update. He looked at the screen,  _ a terrorist attack in the capitol building? Multiple people confirmed dead, including senators,representatives, journalists, officers, and other innocent civilians. Superman to blame? _

Well things were definitely heating up now. 

His phone rang shortly after the announcement, no doubt it was Diana. He picked up to her saying, “Turn the TV on to US news.”

“I saw it.” He replied as he kept reading the details flashing over the ticker.

“I don’t think Superman did this.” She said. 

“Yeah, I don’t think he would. Someone is setting him up, maybe it’s the same person who knows who you are?” He could almost see her nodding to herself in agreement. 

“Oh! Guess who stalked me to an exhibition today?” Diana asked with a smile on her face.

“Who? And should I be worried… for that person’s safety?” He said nervously.

“Bruce Wayne. He wanted his drive back, I just don’t know why.” She replied back.

“Are you thinking about shadowing him now?” He asked.

He was greeted by a short silence before she answered, “I don’t know. Have we received anything else in the mail?”  

He shook his head to himself, “No. Maybe they don’t care anymore?” 

“Well, I’ll see what I can find out, I may be back home on time after all.” She said as she hung up. 

“Wait!” He said too late.  _ Well there goes the surprise visit. _ He could just call her to tell her that he was here in Metropolis, but she’d probably get mad that he would travel and expose himself in a situation where their privacy was already at risk. 

_ Might as well enjoy my time here. _

* * *

His flight didn’t leave for another few hours. It was a short trip, and he’d spent more hours awake on the plane than he did in the US, but at least he’d be able to see Diana again soon.

He looked at the TV,  _ more breaking news _ , how many things were happening in a span of two days? 

He narrowed his eyes at the screen, there was a monster loose in the city he was in right now? 

_ Well shit. _

* * *

The fight didn’t last long, they had identified two of the figures, Batman and Superman, but there was a third unknown person that no news station had been able to confirm. 

But Steve knew who it was immediately,  _ guess I get to surprise her after all. _

He grabbed a taxi and went straight to her hotel, his flight completely forgotten.

It took him the better part of an hour to travel 5 miles, but with the recent panic the city was in, it was completely understandable. He had actually gotten out of the taxi after he realized he hadn’t moved in the past 15 minutes to just walk the streets. 

But the streets were packed as well, with people thinking there was going to be another alien attack. 

He finally arrived at the Mariott that she was staying in and worked his way up to her room. 

Steve knocked lightly a few times, and after no response, knocked a little harder. He sighed out loud, maybe he should’ve checked if she had checked out or not. So he turned around to go back to the lobby when he heard the door click open. 

“Steve?” He heard as he turned around. 

His eyes shot up at the bathrobe she was wearing, “Nice outfit.” 

“Wasn’t expecting any company, come in.” She said wearily. 

She went to dry off her hair, “You should be in Paris.” He heard her say over the sound of the blowdryer. 

“Yeah, I know. But when you said you’d be here longer, thought I’d pop by for a visit and see the motherland.” He replied as he laid on the bed. 

He laid waiting for a response, and when she hadn’t replied after a few minutes he had begun to drift off. 

He didn’t know how long he was out, but he did wake to her snuggling into his side with a sad look on her face. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Superman died, and his lover was there to see it.” She whispered. 

She kissed him on the cheek, “Even though you shouldn’t be here, I’m really happy that you’re here.” 

He held her tighter, “Did you figure anything out?”

“Bruce promised that he would fill me in.” She whispered as the last of the words barely came out in her tired state.

He just nodded as he felt her breathing slow down, and closed his eyes himself. Sending off a quick prayer for whoever Superman was before falling asleep himself. 

* * *

He had waited for her in the car, she had wanted to pay her respects to Clark Kent, who he now knew as Superman, and to say a few things to Bruce, a.k.a. The Batman, which honestly surprised Steve a lot. But hey, it was nice to have rich and powerful friends.

He watched them stand together and murmur some things to each other for a few minutes before she headed back for the car.

“What’d he say?” Steve asked as she shut the door.

“He needs my help. There’s a threat coming to this world, something not natural and extremely powerful.” She paused, “He thinks the government won’t be able to handle it.” 

Steve nodded, “We can’t just disappear when the world needs us Diana. I meant it when I said that you can save the world.” 

“I was thinking the same thing. Bruce will need all the help he can get.” She said.

“So, I guess Wonder Woman is back in action?” He asked as he drove away from the farm. 

“I think it’s been long overdue.” Diana replied as she looked out at the Kansas plains. 

He was given a second chance at life, it seemed only fair that the world deserved a second chance with wonder woman, he thought as they drove back to the airport. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that ends our journey! 
> 
> I'm really grateful for everyone who came in and read this story, especially those that left comments and kudos, it meant the world that other people enjoyed my writing. It was my first story, and I don't plan on making anything in the near future because boy was this tough, and honestly even with an outline, it was tough to write some days.
> 
> Again, if anyone had any suggestions, or complaints, or just compliments, feel free to say them, always looking to improve my writing skills (or hear nice things about them).


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